# Is abortion an easy way out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 8, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468 "2003-06-08T15:18:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/21 "2003-06-08T21:33:15Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Mambo** _ > In many cases, abortion has become a simple method of responsibility avoidance. I’d really like to see a cite for this, along with a definition of “many”. I would guess that less than 20% of women use abortion as a primary method of birth control, but that is a pure WAG, albeit on the high end. Also, if the father of a child is wants the mother to abort it, or if he walks out immediately after the child is born, isn’t he, too, “taking the easy way out”? CJ ---
**Author:** ![candida](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@candida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/candida)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/22 "2003-06-08T22:10:32Z")
**So, asking this question feels like I’m running across a no mans land.** If only. ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/23 "2003-06-08T22:25:50Z")
Um, I always think of the kid…if it’s born…what kind of life will the kid have with a parent unable to care for them properly…and possibly be born addicted to something, or be born with AIDS. And if there are no abortions…who is going to take care of all the kids that will be up for adoption? I picture orphanages of neglected kids, the ones born with disabilities and addictions especially. How fair is it for that child who was forced to be brought to term only to be neglected later, and possibly die a way more horrible death than that of an abortion in the first term?? Also, if they say they are pro-life, and then label people on assistance ‘parasites’, they should shut up! People are trying to take care of the kids they didn’t abort! I mean, I had another kid after a tubal ligation. Our money situation is getting worse and worse. I could end up on assistance because I chose not to have an abortion. So even though I never had an abortion, I’m still pro-choice. I feel I have no right to dictate another person’s life, and make them be in poverty for the rest of their life, and make a child live in poverty just because they can’t have an abortion. It’s not the easy way out for these people, they have it tough already…whether they be too young or have too many kids already. It’s the married people with only like one kid…that have abortions. That I don’t understand as much,but who am I to judge, there could be risk factors to the mother…or the mother may be old and having another child would take her away from the child she is already raising…who knows. Maybe I should have had an abortion and not lost my job, and saved money for the other childrens’ educations. At least I had that choice, and I can’t whine about the consequences being pushed on me. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/24 "2003-06-08T23:38:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*… and leaves the woman suffering a lifetime of psychological trauma not to mention harming her reproductive system and possibly giving her breast cancer as well. > > But sure it’s the easy way out! \*\* I’ll take your points one by one. 1. That abortion induces psychological trauma. \* JAMA \* says no. A study published in the journal, (Stotland, N. “The Myth of the Abortion Trauma Syndrome.” Journal of the American Medical Association, 1992, 268(15): 2078-2079) had this to say on the issue: > [@](#): > > “Significant psychiatric sequelae after abortion are rare, as documented in numerous methodologically sound prospective studies in the United States and in European countries. Comprehensive reviews of this literature have recently been performed and confirm this conclusion. The incidence of diagnosed psychiatric illness and hospitalization is considerably lower following abortion than following childbirth…Significant psychiatric illness following abortion occurs most commonly in women who were psychiatrically ill before pregnancy, in those who decided to undergo abortion under external pressure, and in those who underwent abortion in aversive circumstances, for example, abandonment.” Henry P. David, PhD reported this: (David, HP. “Comment: Post-Abortion Trauma.” Abortion Review Incorporating Abortion Research Notes, Spring, 1996, 59: 1-3.) > [@](#): > > “Severe psychological reactions after abortion are infrequent…[T]he number of such cases is very small, and has been characterized by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop as ‘miniscule from a public health perspective’…For the vast majority of women, an abortion will be followed by a mixture of emotions, with a predominance of positive feelings. This holds immediately after abortion and for some time afterward…[T]he positive picture reported up to eight years after abortion makes it unlikely that more negative responses will emerge later.” Russo and Dabul reported their conclusions of an eight-year study in Professional Psychology: (Russo, NF & AJ Dabul. “The Relationship of Abortion to Well-Being: Do Race and Religion Make a Difference?” Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1997, 28(1): 1-9.) > [@](#): > > “Although an intensive examination of the data was conducted, controlling for numerous variables and including comparisons of Black women versus White women, Catholic women versus non-Catholic women, and women who had abortions versus other women, the findings are consistent: The experience of having an abortion plays a negligible, if any, independent role in women’s well-being over time, regardless of race or religion. The major predictor of a woman’s well-being after an abortion, regardless of race or religion, is level of well-being before becoming pregnant…Our findings are congruent with those of others, including the National Academy of Sciences (1975), and the conclusion is worth repeating. Despite a concerted effort to convince the public of the existence of a widespread and severe postabortion trauma, there is no scientific evidence for the existence of such trauma, even though abortion occurs in the highly stressful context of an unwanted pregnancy.” 1. I have not seen conclusive evidence that abortion causes reproductive repercussions, or is a cause of breast cancer. Abortion is generally a safe procedure which causes no lasting harm to the woman’s reproductive organs. As in any medical procedure, however, there’s always a chance that something may go wrong. However, chances are, it won’t. [This](http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=16279) report by the Kaiser Foundation says: > [@](#): > > Scientific research does not support a link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer later in life, researchers at a National Cancer Institute workshop said on Wednesday at the conclusion of the meeting, USA Today reports. Participants said that most of the studies that had indicated a connection between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer were “flawed” (Rubin, USA Today, 2/27). Almost all of the approximately 100 epidemiologists, clinicians and other scientists at the “Early Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer” workshop “quickly agreed,” saying that although some early, smaller studies had shown an increased risk of breast cancer among women who had had abortions, larger and better-designed studies did not indicate a link, the Chicago Tribune reports. ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/25 "2003-06-08T23:48:18Z")
There is a clinic in town run by christians (in fact they made on W5 for being liars) that tell women that they will suffer from guilt and trauma after an abortion. They also scare them with tales of women dying or being mutilated after abortions. Then they show pictures of aborted babies and go in graphic detail about the baby being ripped to bits as it shows signs of agony until it dies. They show inflated stats and completely try to get them to keep the pregnancy no matter what. The result is the women don’t have a fair way of deciding. They advertise in the paper as ‘counsellors’, even though they have no actual training in actual counselling. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/26 "2003-06-09T00:09:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drabble \* > \*\*There is a clinic in town run by christians (in fact they made on W5 for being liars) that tell women that they will suffer from guilt and trauma after an abortion. They also scare them with tales of women dying or being mutilated after abortions. Then they show pictures of aborted babies and go in graphic detail about the baby being ripped to bits as it shows signs of agony until it dies. > > They show inflated stats and completely try to get them to keep the pregnancy no matter what. > > The result is the women don’t have a fair way of deciding. They advertise in the paper as ‘counsellors’, even though they have no actual training in actual counselling. \*\* This is pretty common. You see ads for them in almost every city. Really, all that you need is a meeting space and a phone number to set one up. I live in a small, rural American city. We, too, have a “pregnancy crisis center.” The ads tout, “Pregnant? Scared? We can help!” Unfortunately, they don’t. A friend of mine who \* was \* “pregnant and sacred” went to them. They started trying to convince her, using the tactics you cited, not to abort. She said she had no intention of doing so-- she just needed some assistance. They had none to offer. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/27 "2003-06-09T00:16:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mambo \* > \*\*I never mentioned the issue of life and death in the OP. > > In many cases, abortion has become a simple method of responsibility avoidance. Since when has this been something that American’s valued or even condoned? \*\* Many times, having an abortion is\* the most responsible thing to do. It is extremely **ir** responsible to have a baby you can’t take care of. ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/28 "2003-06-09T00:18:12Z")
> [@](#): > > “pregnancy crisis center.” The ads tout, “Pregnant? Scared? We can help!” Unfortunately, they don’t. That’s exactly it!!! Are you in western canada too??? ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/29 "2003-06-09T00:20:39Z")
Oh, poo, you said american city…oops!! Never mind my silly question!! Yeah, they’re help is scare tactics…but when it comes to actually referring you to a place to get clothes for the baby, or some other kind of help…well, pah, good luck!! ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/30 "2003-06-09T00:20:57Z")
Oh, poo, you said american city…oops!! Never mind my silly question!! Yeah, their help is scare tactics…but when it comes to actually referring you to a place to get clothes for the baby, or some other kind of help…well, pah, good luck!! ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/31 "2003-06-09T00:23:18Z")
Double post!!! Aughgh!! :smack: All I did was stop the posting to correct a spelling error…why can’t I edit my own posts? ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/32 "2003-06-09T01:09:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drabble \* > \*\*Oh, poo, you said american city…oops!! Never mind my silly question!! > > Yeah, they’re help is scare tactics…but when it comes to actually referring you to a place to get clothes for the baby, or some other kind of help…well, pah, good luck!! \*\* Huh. You don’t [say](http://www.birthright.org/services.html)… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/33 "2003-06-09T01:19:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\*Huh. You don’t [say](http://www.birthright.org/services.html)… :dubious: \*\* Great. Now all they need to do is provide objective information about abortion alternatives complete with clinic referals, refrain from any attempts to influence the woman’s choice, provide easy access to the morning after pill, and they can call themselves legitimate. ---
**Author:** ![queen\_of\_uranus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@queen\_of\_uranus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/queen_of_uranus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/34 "2003-06-09T01:27:51Z")
to those who quote all the valuable references citing that there are no psychological effects from having an abortion, go have one and then come back and report your own findings… you can find reports to backup whatever results you wish to toss out there… i am sure that if inclined i could find just as many authorities to quote back from that would say the complete opposite of your authorities… i dont need to confer with books to have an understanding of humans, both those i agree with and those i dont i would like to know just how many of these professionals have ever endured the guilt, emotional trauma, heartach, and all the other emotions that go along with having to make that decision… i have, and i can tell you that it haunts you for the rest of your life… wasnt a choice a 13 year old should have to make, but i am glad i at least had the option… it is easy to stand on the outside and judge, to say what others should do… and we all claim that we know what we would do in that situation… no one knows what they will actually do in any given situation until that moment arrives no matter how much you may think and hope that you do… until your moment arrives and you endure the actual event please dont stand in judgement of how easy you may think it would be to end a life… until you have to live with that decision please dont jump on a soapbox you really know nothing about… ---
**Author:** ![i\_like\_bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@i\_like\_bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_like_bacon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/35 "2003-06-09T01:37:23Z")
well said **black** : It’s anything but easy. And it’s rather presumptuous to assume that a woman who chooses to have an abortion is irresponsible; given the number of unfit parents I see everyday, I think it’s fair to say that irresponsibility cuts both ways. consider that for many women there is a life time of remembering “he/she would have been 12 today”. that doesn’t seem to me to be the “easy way out”. there is no easy way out in that situation it isn’t a decision that most women would take lightly IMHO, you would have to weigh what the effect going thru with an unplanned, and in many cases, a single parent lifestyle, will have on the child, the parent, the grandparents. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/36 "2003-06-09T01:47:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by queen of uranus \* > \*\*you can find reports to backup whatever results you wish to toss out there… i am sure that if inclined i could find just as many authorities to quote back from that would say the complete opposite of your authorities… i dont need to confer with books to have an understanding of humans, both those i agree with and those i dont > \*\* I truly am sorry about what you’ve gone through, but please try to remember that not everyone who’s had an abortion will feel the same way as you do. Personal experience does not a universal truth make. These were studies done by respectable, peer-reviewed researchers. The studies, some of the largest to date, involved thousands of women. There may be others who argue differently, but these are generally people with a political agenda, who don’t use reliable data. ---
**Author:** ![Tallayan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Tallayan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tallayan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/37 "2003-06-09T01:50:12Z")
Well my major beef with abortion has always been the fact there is adoption. I realize alot of you will be able to pull out facts and statistics about how adoption isn’t good, but i personally was adopted and have always thanked my birthmother for making that decision. They could have simply taken an abortion, it probobly would have been easiar and meant less pain for them, but they didn’t. They could have made a decision that would mean i would never have been born, but they chose to endure alot of pain. For that I have always been, and will allways be eternally gratefull to someone i have never met. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/38 "2003-06-09T02:15:48Z")
The main problem with adoption, \*\*Tallayan, \*\* is that it’s extremely hard for some babies to find homes. While there are waiting lists for healthy, white babies, minority babies, or those who are physically or mentally challenged, prospects for adoption can be bleak. ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/39 "2003-06-09T02:46:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lissa \* > \*\*I truly am sorry about what you’ve gone through, but please try to remember that not everyone who’s had an abortion will feel the same way as you do. Personal experience does not a universal truth make. > > \*\* Well said, **Lissa**. **Queen of uranus** , as soon as I read your post, I had to wonder how much your tender age played into the lasting effects of it. Personally, I’ve never been bothered much over it. ---
**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468/40 "2003-06-09T02:46:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\*Huh. You don’t [say](http://www.birthright.org/services.html)… :dubious: \*\* I’d like you find something like that for the “Pregnancy Crisis Center”…which is the actual name of the one here. Kudos if you do, but I won’t be holding my breath…🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-abortion-an-easy-way-out/180468.md?page=3)