Unwanted pregnancy represents a major cost of sexual activity. It is predicted that abortion legalization generated incentives leading to an increase in sexual activity, accompanied by an increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using Centers for Disease Control data on the incidence of gonorrhea and syphilis by state, we test the hypothesis that abortion legalization led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. We found that gonorrhea and syphilis incidences are signi¬cantly and positively correlated with abortion legalization. In fact, the stress experienced by women who get abortions may stem not from the procedure itself but from the simple fact that the pregnancy is unwanted.
In addition, the researchers found that women’s religious affiliation had no effect on whether they had abortions; devout Catholics were just as likely to abort as women belonging to religions more tolerant of the procedure. Nor did religion affect women’s long-term well-being after abortion, once education level, income, and initial self-esteem were taken into account. Effect of religion in abortion, By Lisa Tolin, published on July 01, 1997 – last reviewed on June 14, 2012
A significant number of patients suffer psychological complications as a consequence of abortion, and 10-20% experience severe depression. The risk factors for such psychological complications originate with abortions performed under pressure, eugenic abortions, or late abortions, and with cultural or religious hostility against abortion. The response to abortion consists of four phases: phase 1 is short and comprises the immediate reaction and alleviation that the pregnancy is over; phase 2 can last for several weeks or months, with anxiety and even guilt being experienced by 20% of women 2 years after the abortion; phase 3 corresponds to a pathological phase, that is, when anxiety is transformed into disease in 10-20% of women (symptoms of this depressive disease include insomnia, crying, inability to concentrate, anxiety, and panic attacks); phase 4 consists of reactivated mourning. Treatment depends on the phase: for anxiety, counseling is indicated; for depression, anti-depression drugs; however, these are contraindicated in the first trimester if the patient becomes pregnant. For breast-feeding mothers, tricyclic antidepressants are indicated and during such treatment counseling should be suspended. Although the effects of such treatment methods have not been adequately assessed, it could be concluded that they do not cause any harm. The efficacy of treatment choices needs to be studied.
The effects of abortion could be either physical or emotional and they will range with each woman who experienced this procedure. It may be difficult to tell beforehand who is at greater or lesser risk for such effects, and the fact that abortion is legal in most places certainly reduces risk of physical complication. That being said, there can be complications to this procedure of a physical and emotional nature, and it is wise to understand any possible risk factors.
EMOTIONAL EFFECTS OF ABORTION
Right after an abortion, women may feel some soreness and cramping. This, and possibly bleeding from the procedure, which is generally no heavier than menstrual bleeding, may last for several weeks. Some women also experience stomach upset that can take the form of vomiting or simply nausea. These tend to be normal after effects of abortion, but if women feel concerned they should contact their doctor or the clinic where the procedure was performed. Sometimes complications do arise after an abortion, though risk of this is low. Women should watch in the first few weeks for signs or very heavy bleeding, fever, severe pain in the pelvis or severe stomach pain. These signs might suggest dangerous infection or hemorrhage and need immediate medical care. In extremely rare instances, death does occur during or after an abortion, but risk of this is about on par with risk of death during childbirth.
There are also emotional effects of abortion, which do exist and need to be noted and looked for. Of these, the most significant is the development of postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a risk any time a pregnancy ends, at any stage and no matter how. The body can respond by becoming deeply depressed as pregnancy hormones rapidly fall.
What this would suggest for most women seeking an abortion is that they have a strong support system; this could be the help of friends, group support, work with a counselor, or a supportive family. Isolation after an abortion tends to increase risk for serious depression, and the circumstances under which a woman gets an abortion may also make depression more or less likely. Those who feel conflicted about the decision or must keep it secretive may suffer more.
Other emotional effects of abortion exist. Some people feel guilt, while others feel relief. Without full-blown post-partum depression, some women may still feel tearful, moody, or simply endure a difficult emotional ride during the first few weeks to several months after abortion. Again, not all women have this experience, but some do.
Understanding the effects of abortion allows women to make informed choices. There are strong arguments for and against this procedure, and people on both sides of this issue may frequently hold up one or two of the effects as a reason for or against having an abortion. What is most important is that effects be neither aggrandized nor minimized. It is important for anyone who faces this decision to understand effects clear of taint of a political position.
PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF ABORTION
When an abortion is performed on a woman, she becomes subject to many physical complications. Blood loss during the procedure causes diversion of blood flow to various organs and can result in shock. When the canal of the cervix is dilated, the insides of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and the abdominal cavity are exposed to invasion by bacteria. Abdominal infection can cause peritonitis and abscess formation. Severe hemorrhage often follows an abortion. Instruments can perforate the uterus causing injury, infection, and bleeding to internal organs.
Deaths from abortions, although rare, are usually from heavy bleeding from complications with anesthesia. Women who have abortions increase their risk of breast cancer by fifty percent, according to a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Abortion of a first pregnancy interrupts the natural growth process of the breast, leaving millions of cells at a high risk. It has been found that future pregnancy failure is increased by forty-five percent with just one previous abortion. Other complications are a greater risk of premature births, tubal pregnancy, sterility, and damage to the cervix. As a result of abortion, women suffer many physical injuries.
Not only do these women bear physical side effects, but they also suffer many emotional side effects. Among these are depression, long-term grief reactions, anger, sexual dysfunction, guilt, flashbacks, memory repression, suicidal ideas, and difficulty keeping close relationships.
In a new study by post-abortion researcher David Reardon, who operates the Elliot Institute for Social Sciences Research in Springfield, Illinois, it was found that twenty-eight percent of women who had abortions later attempted suicide, and over half of these women did so more than once. Drug and alcohol abuse increased four times among women who aborted compared to those who carried to term. Ninety-eight percent of women regretted having had an abortion. Seventy-two percent of women said their abortion did not improve their life. Twenty percent of post-abortive women reported a nervous breakdown, and ten percent were hospitalized for psychiatric care. Of the two hundred and sixty women surveyed, over sixty percent said their abortion made their life worse. Written By: Tricia Ellis-Christensen Edited By: O. Wallace Last Modified Date: 31 October 2012 Copyright Protected: 2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation
SPIRITUALL EFFECTS OF ABORTION
In addition, abortion hurts women spiritually because it is not simply a process of evacuating the contents of a uterus, but the ending of a human life. God states in the sixth commandment, Thou shall not murder. Each baby is created by God and is part of His plan as stated in Psalms 139: 13-14, You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb… you saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe… Human life does not begin when the baby breathes, or when its heart begins to beat, buts its life is continuous and inherited.
Life is passed from family to family and recorded in the Bible back to the first human beings created by God, Adam and Eve. Professor Garret Hardin, Department of Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, stated Life ends often, but it never begins. It is just passed from one cell to another. All biologists…are in agreement with that… When a women interrupts God’s plan of life through abortion, she may suffer spiritual void and separation from God.
Not only do abortions end the life of a baby, but they also have harmful physical, emotional, and spiritual effects of the women involved. We need to protect and value all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. The future of America and our world rest on that.
When people think about the role of men in abortion, it seems that they usually think about the stereotype of the man who forces the abortion or the male who abandons. However, there are many roles the man may have played in the experience. One man may have been involved in several abortions, each with a different scenario. The impact on fathers is mitigated by the role they play in the abortion. They fall into separate categories. National Library of Medicine (US); [updated 2006 Feb 24]. Abortion; [updated 2006 Feb 21; reviewed 2006 Feb 21; cited 2006 Feb 24]. Available from: http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/abortion. html
EFFECT OF ABORTION ON MEN
A man can come to recognize that an abortion experience touched him in many different ways. Each man has his own unique story but there seem to be some common elements. For men who opposed the abortion, the significance is immediate and impactful. He may think, contemplate or obsess about what happened. The experience is never far from his consciousness. The man who seems to agree, is neutral, supports the abortion or just abandons the partner may not have an active awareness of the significance of the experience until years later. Some trigger events for these men may be the birth of another child, seeing an ultrasound during a pregnancy, or a conversion experience of some kind that may bring it to the fore. It may be seeing an ad, reading an article or being aware of the Roe vs. Wade anniversary and the marchers around the country. It may be hearing someone else’s abortion experience or suddenly being aware that the partner they had the abortion with is not doing well, if she is still in his life. It may be that in seeking counseling for marriage problems, drug or alcohol abuse or sexual addiction, an astute counselor or pastor asks about past pregnancies and abortions. Something has opened the door to awareness that allows the man to begin considering the impact of an abortion experience in his life. National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing 1-800-5WE-CARE P. O. Box 070477, Milwaukee, WI 53207-0477 copyright 2007 NOPARH
Conclusion
Abortion is not the appropriate way to deal with any pregnancy, whether it is being intentional or non-intentional. This procedure should not be legal in any country. Children should be given the opportunity to live their lives.
In my personal opinion, the procedure of partial birth abortion should be banned. This form of pregnancy abortion should be viewed by the pregnant women before they go through the procedure so that they can understand what they are about to do.
I think all women contemplating an abortion should actually view an abortion procedure as well as understand what the negative psychological and physical effects they can have post abortion.
I feel that women should be counseled before the procedure and have at least three days to consider the abortion facts, and health effects of abortion, as well as the implications of the procedure.
