# Apparently abortion does NOT lead to emotional and psychological trauma **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707 "2016-12-14T19:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/1 "2016-12-14T19:32:27Z")
[The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/health/abortion-mental-health.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news) just gave an in-depth report on a just-released [JAMA study](http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2592320) that shows that > [@](#): > > Researchers followed nearly 1,000 women who sought abortions nationwide for five years and found that those who had the procedure did not experience more depression, anxiety, low self-esteem or dissatisfaction with life than those who were denied it. While there was some short term stress involved, > [@](#): > > The study, published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, found psychological symptoms increased only in women who sought abortions but were not allowed to have the procedure because their pregnancies were further along than the cutoff time at the clinic they visited. But their distress was short-lived, whether they went elsewhere for an abortion or delivered the baby. About six months after being turned away from the first abortion clinic, their mental health resembled that of women who were not turned away and had abortions. -no long term problems resulted. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/2 "2016-12-14T20:25:46Z")
[I’m totally psyched about this abortion!](http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/im-totally-psyched-about-this-abortion-10931) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/3 "2016-12-14T23:53:51Z")
Abortions for all! Woo hoo! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/4 "2016-12-15T00:09:13Z")
This is a good thing right? Because it means society (for the most part) has come to accept abortion as a fact of life and we shouldn’t ostracize women who choose to get one? Thus causing them emotional distress? Sure, it’s only natural for women ton go through an initial period of emotional distress. These decisions can never be made easily. But after they do make that decision, I’d hate to think these women live the rest of their lives in a depressive state. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/5 "2016-12-15T00:21:51Z")
I haven’t verified it, but I’ve heard that roughly 2/3rds of pregnancies self-abort within the first few weeks. Assuming that to be true, I think we could already have concluded that people are able to move on when a pregnancy doesn’t end up as they wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/6 "2016-12-15T02:26:22Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Abortions for all! Woo hoo! I’m sorry-what? Are you not in favor of accurate information on the subject being released to the public? ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/7 "2016-12-15T02:52:16Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Abortions for all! Woo hoo! Very well. Abortions for none! ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/8 "2016-12-15T14:26:41Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > Very well. Abortions for none! Boo!!! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/9 "2016-12-15T14:44:53Z")
Abortions for some, miniature American flags for the rest. I am so printing out that page. The anti-abortion protesters I’ve encountered insist that “Every women regrets an abortion. No woman regrets an adoption.” Total bullshit. I’ve seen an anti-abortion study where the person who do it attributed every negative thing in the life of any woman who terminated her pregnancy to abortion. Had a depression 15 years later? Abortion. Got into an automobile accident 5 years later? Abortion. Your child is doing drugs? It was caused by your abortion. On and on and on and on and on… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/10 "2016-12-15T15:45:37Z")
Speaking as a Catholic right-to-lifer… I honestly don’t know if there is any clear trend in how women react after having an abortion. I am open to psychological studies going either way. Using common sense, I imagine that women are different and that their feelings about their abortions are all across the board. Some women regret their abortions and still weep about them. Some undoubtedly think it was the smartest thing they ever did, and have never thought twice about it. Others are somewhere in between. Thing is, how women FEEL about their abortions is irrelevant to the morality of the issue. There is NO moral issue that should be argued on such a basis. If you think slavery is evil and ought to be abolished, it would be SILLY to argue “It’s immoral because most slave owners feel guilty and remorseful about owning slaves.” It would be both stupid and dishonest to argue against the Holocaust on the grounds that guards at Dachau and Bergen-Belsen were grief-stricken over killing Jews! Maybe concentration camp guards lay awake all night, tormented by guilt. Maybe they slept like babies. Who cares??? If the Viet Nam war was wrong, it would STILL be wrong if psychological studies proved conclusively that 90% of Viet Nam vets feel just fine about their military service. Abortion is no different. It’s either moral or immoral. Your opinion on THAT question should not be influenced in any way by whether women who’ve had abortions regret them or not. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/11 "2016-12-15T15:50:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Speaking as a Catholic right-to-lifer… > > I honestly don’t know if there is any clear trend in how women react after having an abortion. I am open to psychological studies going either way. I am open to valid scientific studies, too. Got any that go “the other way”? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/12 "2016-12-15T16:13:20Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Abortion is no different. It’s either moral or immoral. Your opinion on THAT question should not be influenced in any way by whether women who’ve had abortions regret them or not. Let’s not forget that this is not a “is abortion moral” thread. Abortion is legal and available to women. For women to make informed choices they they should know whether or not post abortion issues should be given higher weight than than they currently have been. That’s it. Your view on whether they should \*have \*access to abortion is irrelevant to that choice. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/13 "2016-12-15T16:26:40Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Let’s not forget that this is not a “is abortion moral” thread. > > Abortion is legal and available to women. For women to make informed choices they they should know whether or not post abortion issues should be given higher weight than than they currently have been. That’s it. Your view on whether they should \*have \*access to abortion is irrelevant to that choice. I wasn’t attempting to turn this into a moral debate. I was simply noting that the emotional and psychological effects on women are completely irrelevant to whether abortion should be legal. Right to lifers who’ve tried in the past that abortion should be outlawed because it causes trauma to women were foolish and dishonest. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/14 "2016-12-15T16:58:12Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Thing is, how women FEEL about their abortions is irrelevant to the morality of the issue. There is NO moral issue that should be argued on such a basis. > … > Abortion is no different. It’s either moral or immoral. Your opinion on THAT question should not be influenced in any way by whether women who’ve had abortions regret them or not. My confusion obviously lies here; your initial linkage to a woman’s feelings regarding abortion and abortion’s morality. When I suppose you meant to link it more directly to those people actively restricting abortion based on feelings like you do in your next post. > [@astorian](#): > > I was simply noting that the emotional and psychological effects on women are completely irrelevant to whether abortion should be legal. Right to lifers who’ve tried in the past that abortion should be outlawed because it causes trauma to women were foolish and dishonest. Thanks for the clarification ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/15 "2016-12-15T17:42:04Z")
Apparently being denied an abortion does NOT lead to emotional and psychological trauma. Go figure. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/16 "2016-12-15T17:50:54Z")
That’s not what the paper says. Bolding is mine. > [@](#): > > In this study, compared with having an abortion, **being denied an abortion** may be associated with greater risk of initially experiencing adverse psychological outcomes. Psychological well-being improved over time so that both groups of women eventually converged. These findings do not support policies that restrict women’s access to abortion on the basis that abortion harms women’s mental health. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/17 "2016-12-15T17:56:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Apparently being denied an abortion does NOT lead to emotional and psychological trauma. Go figure. > > Regards, > Shodan Where did _that_ nugget of info come from? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/18 "2016-12-15T18:11:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Where did _that_ nugget of info come from? > [@](#): > > The study, published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, found psychological symptoms increased only in women who sought abortions but were not allowed to have the procedure because their pregnancies were further along than the cutoff time at the clinic they visited. But their distress was short-lived, whether they went elsewhere for an abortion or delivered the baby. About six months after being turned away from the first abortion clinic, their mental health resembled that of women who were not turned away and had abortions. See? After six months, whether you had an abortion when you first asked, went somewhere else and had an abortion, or never had an abortion at all, no difference. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/19 "2016-12-17T19:29:15Z")
I know I never regretted it. I was 15. I was in no position to be pregnant, much less a parent. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707/20 "2016-12-17T22:06:14Z")
I had to have one, and was immensely relieved as having a run up at a full on pregnancy would have killed me, my second pregnancy ending itself at 7 months almost did me in [hence the tubal ligation that undid itself 10 years later … and let me get preggers the third time] DO keep in mind while I am pro choice, I did not then and do not now [though it is way not ever a consideration post hysterectomy as I no longer have the organs to get pregnant] believe in abortion for me without seriously extenuating circumstances [such as being deadly to me. Sorry, but I want to live and there being no way for me to continue pregnant and live, the pregnancy needed to be terminated.] I do not have any regret, nor guilt - I was more peeved at my body for popping the band and scar plug and letting me get pregnant [I had never had fertility issues …\*sigh\*] And I never actually wanted kids, having neice/nephews and goddaughters was always fine for me - I seem to have been hiding behind hte door when they were handing out maternal instinct =) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-abortion-does-not-lead-to-emotional-and-psychological-trauma/774707.md?page=2)