I know this must be a hard time for you. It is way past sept. now i know. But if you are still pregnant than it must be a very hard time for you. You said you are against abortation...but you better think about the many kids who always wonder who their real parents are. My friend is one of them...well was....she killed herself i'm afriad...but she's still my friend in my heart...it's kinda tragic because she went on a sereach for her real parents...and she found out her mother was a 14 year old when she had her and was raped...and her mother when she met her turned her away...i don't know what part made her hate life so much...but you should consider this...if you still want to bring this life into the world then you might want to give it up...no matter what age you are you can! You do not need your parents permission. But you should consider something in this...i would hate it if you did this and then regretted it. You will most likely never see that child again...EVER. they will not give you info...they gave my friend because she had permission from her adopted parents and the mother forgot to sign not to be contacted (cause she didn't want to) and she was the child so she could. But as the person giving it up...you wager every right. Can you live with that? Think hard about your decision. I know it is hard...if you evver need someone to talk to...email me! it is in my profile...just click my name...ttyl. byez! I hope everything works out for you. Be brave...this probably will be the hardest time in your life. Stay strong.

I know how that feels and I can only tell you what I did. I gave the baby(a little girl named Alexis Raine) to my mother. She will never know the truth of how she was concieved. Oh yea, no matter how old you are you can give your baby up for adoption. Someone lied to you!

Abortion Information

Abortion: A Woman's Choice


More Abortion Information

-Nationally, 9 in 10 sexually active women and their partners use a contraceptive method, although not always consistently or correctly.

-Contraception is not foolproof: 54% of all U.S. women who have abortions used contraception.

-Every year, almost one million teenage women become pregnant in the U.S.

-78% of teen pregnancies are unplanned, accounting for 25% of all unintended pregnancies annually.

-Nearly 4 in 10 teen pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.

-52% of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25: women aged 20-24 have 33% of all abortions, and teenagers (women 19 or younger) have 19% of all abortions.

Young Women and Abortion

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Break it up into several replies and post them over time. That's the only way to get your message across to us lay-zay people.

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No problem.

When Women Are Denied Abortion:

The mental health of women faced with unwanted pregnancy is at greater risk when they are compelled to deliver than when they are allowed to choose abortion. According to one study, 34 percent of women who were denied abortions reported one to three years later that the child was a burden that they frequently resented. And children of women denied abortion have more genetic malformations than average; have insecure, divorce-fraught childhoods; perform worse at school; have more psychosomatic symptoms; are often registered with welfare officials; and often need psychiatric treatment.

A study in Sweden indicated that 24 percent of women who applied for and were refused abortion seven years earlier had not yet been able to adjust emotionally. Another 53 percent had been able to adjust but with difficulty. Only 23 percent could be described as well-adjusted. And a 1981 study indicated that less than half of the women who elected to terminate a pregnancy would not have had an illegal abortion if that were their only recourse. Fifty-eight percent were uncertain or would have had an illegal abortion if that were their only alternative.

-Emotionally unstable women with unstable living conditions, such as being in conflict with their parents, will most likely react to an unwanted pregnancy in a disturbed fashion - whether or not they bring their pregnancies to term (Russo & Denious; 2001, Russo & Zierk, 1992; Major et al., 1990; Petersen, 1981; Major et al., 1992). Women, however, who expect to cope well with abortion, do (Major et al., 1985; Major et al., 1990). In general, women having a high degree of social, partner, and parental support for their decisions experience less distress or regret over their decisions (David et al., 1985; Major et al., 1990; Zeanah et al., 1993).

-Adolescents who feel that they have decided to have an abortion without pressure to do so from parents or others are less likely to experience negative reactions. Obversely, women who are persuaded by their partners against their own wishes to elect abortion experience greater feelings of guilt.

If safe, legal abortion were not available, more women would experience unwanted childbearing, and unwanted childbearing effects the entire family. Mothers with unwanted births suffer from higher levels of depression and lower levels of happiness than mothers without unwanted births. They spank and slap their children more often than other mothers, and spend less leisure time outside the home with their children. Lower-quality mother/child relationships are not limited to the child born as a result of the unwanted pregnancy - all the children in the family suffer.

Why do you people bother with such long posts? You know only a few people (myself not included) are going to read all of that. Break it up into several replies and post them over time. That's the only way to get your message across to us lay-zay people.

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So a whopping 69% didn’t regret having aborted their child, eh? The statistics speak for themselves.

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The first high risk category includes women who feel pressured to choose abortion in order to comply with the needs or wishes of others.14,16 This is especially true if the "wishes" of others are experienced as coercion, whether subtle or overt, such as threatening to withhold love or approval unless she "does the best thing."6,14

Even lack of emotional support to keep a pregnancy may be experienced as a pressure "forcing" a woman to choose abortion.5,14,20 In addition, pressure from adverse circumstances, such as financial problems, being unmarried, social problems, or health problems may also make a woman feel she is being "forced" to accept abortion as her "only choice."

A study of 252 aborted women who suffered psychological sequelae reported that 53% felt "forced" into the abortion by others, and 65 percent felt "forced" by their circumstances. Only 33 percent felt "free" to make their own decisions. Conversely, 83 percent stated they would have kept the pregnancy if they had been encouraged to do so by one or more other persons, and 84 percent would have kept the pregnancy under "better circumstances."14,19


The second criteria for identifying high risk patients is the existence in the patient of any reluctance to have the abortion. The source of her doubts may result from either conflicting moral views about abortion, or from a conflicting desire to keep the baby.6,8,13,14,20

Various studies have found that 65 to 70 percent of women seeking abortions have a negative moral view of abortion.14,19 Only 6 to 20 percent of women receiving induced abortions report that they would have been willing to seek illegal abortions if abortion had not been legal.12,14

The vast majority of aborted women, therefore, can be classified as "soft core" aborters for whom abortion was a marginal choice which they would not have pursued if it had been illegal.

The ambivalence which the majority of women feel with regard to the morality of abortion is compounded by the ambivalence which many feel about keeping the baby. Researchers report that 30 to 60 percent of women seeking abortion express some desire to keep the child.5,14,19 Of women who suffer post abortion trauma, 45 percent went to the clinic still hoping for a "miracle" option which would have allowed them to avoid the abortion and/or keep the baby.14

From studies published on the characteristics of women seeking abortion, it can be estimated that up to 70 percent of all abortion patients fall into the category of high-risk patients because of the presence of coercive pressures and/or ambivalent feelings at the time of the abortion.14,19

It is noteworthy that the two criteria for high risk abortion patients -- feelings of being under pressure to abort and feelings of ambivalence -- are typical of women who abort for reasons of physical health,14 psychological health,6,14 fetal malformation,2 rape or incest.10,14

Indeed, when viewed within the frame work of high-risk criteria, all of the categories typically associated with "hard case" abortions are actually contra-indications for abortion. While there are many reasons for this, a simplified explanation is that the harder the circumstances which a pregnant woman faces, the more she feels "forced" into a decision which is not freely her own.

Researchers investigating post-abortion reactions report only one positive emotion: relief. This emotion is understandable, especially in light of the high degree of pressure aborting women feel to "get it over with."5,14

Temporary feelings of relief are frequently followed by a period psychiatrists identify as emotional "paralysis," or post-abortion "numbness."7 Like shell-shocked soldiers, these aborted women are unable to express or even feel their own emotions. Their focus is primarily on having survived the ordeal, and they may be, at least temporarily, out of touch with their feelings.

Studies within the first few weeks after the abortion have found that between 40 and 60 percent of the women questioned reporting at least some negative reactions.1,14,19 In one study of 500 aborted women, researchers found that 50 percent expressed negative feelings, and up to 10 percent were classified as having developed "serious psychiatric complications."6

Thirty to fifty percent of aborted women report experiencing sexual dysfunctions, of a temporary or permanent nature, which appear immediately after their abortions.5,14 These problems may include one or more of the following: loss of pleasure from intercourse, increased pain, an aversion to sex and/or males in general, or the development of a promiscuous lifestyle.

Up to 33 percent of aborted women develop an intense longing to become pregnant again in order to "make up" for the lost pregnancy, with 18 percent succeeding within one year of the abortion.15,13,18 Unfortunately, many women who succeed at obtaining their "wanted" replacement pregnancies discover that the same problems which pressured them into having their first abortion still exist, and so they end up feeling "forced" into abortion the second time as well.


While many high-risk women will begin experiencing negative emotional and behavioral patterns soon after their abortions, these problems are frequently blamed on people, situations, or circumstances other than the abortion. This is typical occurs during a period of denial which commonly follows a traumatic abortion experience.

During this time, the high-risk woman may go to great lengths to avoid people, situations, or events which she associates with her abortion. She may even become vocally defensive of abortion in order to convince others, and mostly herself, that she made the right choice and is satisfied with the outcome. But later, when seeking counseling for seemingly unrelated reasons, this woman may discover that her psychological difficulties stem from a traumatic abortion which she had repressed.

Repressed feelings can result in psychological and behavioral difficulties which exhibit themselves in unpredictable ways. One example of seemingly unrelated problems can stem from repressed feelings is found in the increased occurrence of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia among aborted women.15 In some cases, counseling for a traumatic abortion experience can lead to a dramatic recovery from anorexia nervosa.9

Denial and repression may last for years, or even decades, until some event finally triggers a "crisis" which forces a woman to confront her unresolved feelings. Numerous researchers have reported that post-abortion crises are often precipitated on the anniversary date of the abortion or the unachieved "due date."11,14,18 Reproductive experiences such as the birth of a later child, miscarriage, or unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant, are also frequently associated with precipitating a delayed post-abortion crisis. Some women, who would otherwise appear to have been satisfied with their abortion experience, are reported to enter into emotional crisis decades later with the onset of menopause or after their youngest child leaves home.3

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This is a partial site, so all the statistics you gave me are null and void. Find another, more valid source.

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First
SecondThrird
Fourth

More?

Gem, will you marry me?

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31% had regrets about their decision

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So a whopping 69% didn’t regret having aborted their child, eh? The statistics speak for themselves.

From 1990 (the year in which the number of abortions was highest) to 1995, the annual number of legal induced abortions in the United States declined by 15%. From 1995 to 1996, the number increased slightly and then decreased again in 1997. This change in the number of abortions reported to the Centers for Disease Control may indicate that the number of legal abortions in the United States is leveling off.

Since 1990, factors contributing to the continued decrease in the proportion of pregnancies that ended in abortion might include a decrease in the number of unintended pregnancies, changes in contraceptive practices (including an increased use of condoms among young women), reduced access to abortion services, and possible changes in attitudes concerning abortion.


And Korith, the site in which you've obtained all oif your information (www.abortionfacts.com) is highly biased against pro-choicers. It shoots down every pro-choice aspect of abortion and glorifies Christianity.

For instance, look at this:
Question: Why not allow abortion for rape pregnancies?

Answer: “We must approach this with great compassion. The woman has been subjected to an ugly trauma, and she needs love, support and help. But she has been the victim of one violent act. Should we now ask her to be a party to a second violent act -that of abortion? Unquestionably, many would return the violence of killing an innocent baby for the violence of rape. But, before making this decision, remember that most of the trauma has already occurred. She has been raped. That trauma will live with her all her life. Furthermore, this girl did not report for help, but kept this to herself. For several weeks or months, she has thought of little else. Now, she has finally asked for help, has shared her upset, and should be in a supportive situation. The utilitarian question from the mother’s stand-point is whether or not it would now be better to kill the developing baby within her. But will abortion now be best for her, or will it bring her more harm yet? What has happened and its damage has already occurred. She’s old enough to know and have an opinion as to whether she carries a "baby" or a "blob of protoplasm." Will she be able to live comfortably with the memory that she "killed her developing baby"? Or would she ultimately be more mature and more at peace with herself if she could remember that, even though she became pregnant unwillingly, she nevertheless solved her problem by being unselfish, by giving of herself and of her love to an innocent baby, who had not asked to be created, to deliver, perhaps to place for adoption, if she decides that is what is best for her baby. Compare this memory with the woman who can only look back and say, ‘I killed my baby.’”

This is a partial site, so all the statistics you gave me are null and void. Find another, more valid source.

Research studies indicate that emotional responses to legally induced abortion are largely positive. They also indicate that emotional problems resulting from abortion are rare and less frequent than those following childbirth (Adler, 1989).

Anti-family planning extremists, however, circulate unfounded claims that a majority of the 29 percent of pregnant American women who choose to terminate their pregnancies (Henshaw & Van Vort, 1990) suffer severe and long-lasting emotional trauma as a result. They call this nonexistent phenomenon "post-abortion trauma" or "post-abortion syndrome." They hope that terms like these will gain wide currency and credibility despite the fact that neither the American Psychological Association nor the American Psychiatric Association recognizes the existence of these phenomena.

The truth is that most studies in the last 20 years have found abortion to be a relatively benign procedure in terms of emotional effect - except when pre-abortion emotional problems exist or when a wanted pregnancy is terminated, such as after diagnostic genetic testing (Adler, 1989; Adler et al., 1990; Russo & Denious, 2001). The many studies of the emotional effects of abortion, however, do not measure precisely the same variables in regard to culture, time, demographics, or the socioeconomic and psychological situation of women who seek abortion. Since the results of these studies cannot be combined or "averaged out," the following data illustrate, in general, the conclusions of the overwhelming majority of more than 35 of the worldwide studies that have measured the emotional effects of abortion since its legalization in the U.S. in 1973.

Abortion as a Positive Coping Mechanism:

For most women who have had abortions, the procedure represents a maturing experience, a successful coping with a personal crisis situation (Lazarus, 1985; Zabin et al., 1989; Russo & Zierk, 1992; DeVeber et al., 1991). In fact, the most prominent emotional response of most women to first-trimester abortions is relief (Adler et al., 1990; Lazarus, 1985; Armsworth, 1991; Miller, 1996).

Up to 98 percent of the women who have abortions have no regrets and would make the same choice again in similar circumstances (Dagg, 1991).

More than 70 percent of women who have abortions express a desire for children in the future (Torres & Forrest, 1988). There is no evidence that women who have had abortions make less loving or suitable parents (Bradley, 1984).

Women who have had one abortion do not suffer adverse psychological effects. In fact, as a group, they have higher self-esteem, greater feelings of worth and capableness, and fewer feelings of failure than do women who have had no abortions or who have had repeat abortions (Zabin et al., 1989; Russo & Zierk, 1992). A recent two-year study of the psychological effects of abortion confirmed that most women do not experience psychological problems or regrets two years after their abortion. (Major et al, 2000).

A study of a group of teenagers who obtained pregnancy tests at one of two Baltimore clinics found that the young women who chose to have abortions were far more likely to graduate from high school at the expected age than those of similar socioeconomic status who carried their pregnancies to term or who were not pregnant. They showed no greater levels of stress at the time of the pregnancy and abortion and no greater rate of psychological problems two years after the abortion than did the other women (Zabin et al., 1989).

The positive relationship of abortion to well-being may be due in part to abortion's role in controlling fertility and its relationship to coping resources (Russo & Zierk, 1992; Russo & Dabul, 1997).

Postoperative Depressive Symptoms Related to Abortion:

Mild, transient, immediately postoperative depressive symptoms that quickly pass occur in less than 20 percent of all women who have had abortions (Adler et al., 1990; Zabin et al., 1989). Similar symptoms occur in up to 70 percent of women immediately following childbirth (Ziporyn, 1984).

Up to 10 percent of women who have abortions experience depressive symptoms of a lingering nature (Adler, 1989). Similar symptoms occur in up to 10 percent of women after childbirth (Ziporyn, 1984; Zolese & Blacker, 1992; Sachdev, 1993).

The experience of an unwanted pregnancy, rather than the abortion itself, may be the cause of any guilt or depression that exists (Adler et al., 1990; Zolese & Blacker, 1992).

Serious Psychiatric Disturbances Following Abortion:

Serious psychological disturbances after abortion are less frequent than after childbirth (Brewer 1977). For example, rates of "postpartum psychosis" are reported as high as 19 per 10,000 and as low as 10 per 10,000 - 0.19-0.1 percent. Reports of the rates of severe psychological disturbance after abortion range from 18 per 10,000 to as low as 2 per 10,000 - 0.18-0.02 percent (David et al., 1985; Robinson & Stewart, 1993).

Researchers suggest that the predictors of severe psychological disturbances after abortion are
delays in seeking abortion
medical or genetic indications for abortion
severe pre-existing or concurrent psychiatric illness
conflict over abortion (Lazarus, 1985)

Rates of "postpartum psychosis" have been shown to decrease in societies that legalize abortion (David et al., 1985).
Emotional Reactions to Adoption:

The psychological responses to abortion are far less serious than those experienced by women bringing their unwanted pregnancy to term and relinquishing the child for adoption (Sachdev, 1993).

While first-trimester abortion does not affect most women adversely, and nearly all women assimilate the abortion experience by six months to one year after the procedure (Sachdev, 1993), one study indicates that 95 percent of birth mothers report grief and loss after they have signed their consent to adoption, and two-thirds continued to experience these feelings five to 15 years after relinquishment (Sachdev, 1989).

Of pregnant women who considered other options before choosing abortion, none considered having a baby and giving it up for adoption. Nearly all of the women believed that relinquishing a baby would cause even greater emotional trauma than abortion. They believed they would develop a deep emotional attachment to the baby that would be extremely painful to sever (Sachdev, 1993).

Emotional Effects

Medical and Social Health Benefits Since Abortion Was Made Legal in the U.S.:

Despite the claims of anti-choice ideologues, many demonstrable health benefits - physical, emotional, and social - have accrued to Americans since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in its decision, Roe v. Wade.

The most important benefit, of course, has been the end of an era that supported the proliferation of "back alley butchers" who were motivated by money alone and performed unsafe, medically incompetent abortions that left many women dead or injured. And compassionate mainstream physicians, who provided clandestine, medically safe abortions, who did not exploit their patients, and who were motivated by principle rather than by financial concerns, no longer had to fear imprisonment and the loss of their medical licenses for performing abortions after Roe was decided (Joffe, 1995). Today, as the 30th anniversary of this landmark decision approaches, it is important to remember how far Roe has brought us as a society and to note some of the many benefits that resulted from the legalization of abortion.

Roe v. Wade did not "invent" abortion:

Estimates of the annual number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million (Tietze & Henshaw, 1986).

In 1969, one year before New York State legalized abortion, complications from abortions accounted for 23 percent of all pregnancy-related admissions to municipal hospitals in New York City (Institute of Medicine, 1975).

After California liberalized its abortion law in 1967, the number of admissions for infection resulting from illegal abortion at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center fell by almost 75 percent (Seward, et al., 1973).

Since Roe v. Wade, women have obtained abortions earlier in pregnancy when health risks to them are at the lowest.

In 1973, only 36 percent of abortions were performed at or before eight weeks of pregnancy (CDC, 1999).

Today, 88 percent of all legal abortions are performed within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and 56 percent take place within the first eight weeks of pregnancy. Only 1.4 percent occurs after 20 weeks (CDC, 2002).

Deaths from abortion declined dramatically during the past two decades.

In 1965, when abortion was still illegal nationwide except in cases of life endangerment, at least 193 women died from illegal abortions, and illegal abortion accounted for nearly 17 percent of all deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth in that year (NCHS, 1967).

In 1973, the risk of dying from an abortion was 3.4 deaths per 100,000 legal abortions. This rate fell to 1.3 by 1977 (Gold, 1990). Today, abortion is one of the most commonly performed clinical procedures, and the current death rate from abortion at all stages of gestation is 0.6 per 100,000 procedures. This is eleven times safer than carrying a pregnancy to term and nearly twice as safe as a penicillin injection (Paul et al., 1999; Gold, 1990).

Medically safe, legal abortion has had a profound impact on American women and their families:

Couples at risk of having children affected with severe and often fatal genetic disorders have been willing to conceive because of the availability of amniocentesis and safe, legal abortion (Milunsky, 1989).

Following the legalization of abortion, the largest decline in birthrates were seen among women for whom the health and social consequences of unintended childbearing are the greatest - women over 35, teenagers, and unmarried women (Levine, et al., 1999). Today, thirty-one percent of the abortions in the U.S. are provided to women over 35 and to teenagers (Jones, et al., 2002).

More than half of all abortions are performed at or before eight weeks of pregnancy, when the procedure is the safest - 0.2 deaths per 100,000 procedures (Gold, 1990).

Half of all pregnancies in the U.S. each year are unintended, and about half of these are terminated by medically safe, legal abortions. In 2000, 1.31 million abortions took place, down from an estimated 1.61 million in 1990. From 1973 through 1997, more than 35 million legal abortions occurred (AGI, 2002; Henshaw, 1998).

If safe, legal abortion were not available, more women would experience unwanted childbearing, and unwanted childbearing affects the entire family. Mothers with unwanted births suffer from higher levels of depression and lower levels of happiness than mothers without unwanted births. They spank and slap their children more often than other mothers, and spend less leisure time outside the home with their children. Lower-quality mother/child relationships are not limited to the child born as a result of the unwanted pregnancy - all the children in the family suffer (Barber, et al., 1999).

The legalization of abortion has also improved the average living conditions of children. Because of increased access to abortion, cohorts born after 1973 are less likely than those born before 1973 to be in single-parent households, to live in poverty, and to receive welfare. They also experience lower infant mortality rates (Gruber, et al., 1999).

The health and well-being of women and children suffer the most in states that have the most stringent anti-abortion law:

Compared to pro-choice states, anti-abortion states spend far less money per child on a range of services such as foster care, education, welfare, and the adoption of children who have physical and mental disabilities (Schroedel, 2000).

The states that have the strongest anti-abortion laws are also the states in which women suffer from lower levels of education and higher levels of poverty, as well as from a lower ratio of female-to-male earnings. They also have a lower percentage of women in the legislature and fewer mandates requiring insurance providers to cover minimum hospital stays after childbirth (Schroedel, 2000).

The legalization of abortion was a significant factor in the dramatic drop in crime in the U.S. in the 1990s:

Previous research has established that a strong link exists between an adverse family environment and future criminal behavior; that maternal rejection is counted among the various qualitative aspects of parenting that provide the most accurate predictors of juvenile delinquency; and that having been born of a pregnancy that was unwanted by one's mother is a circumstance that increases a person's risk of committing violent crime (David, et al., 1988; Donohue & Levitt, 2001).

At least one study reported that legalized abortion can account for about half the observed decline in crime in the U.S. since 1991. Homicide rates have fallen more than 40 percent, and violent crime and property crime have fallen more than 30 percent.

The timing of the drop in crime corresponds to the period in which the first generation of children born after the legalization of abortion are reaching what are considered to be the peak ages of criminal activity (18-24 years old). Furthermore, states that legalized abortion before the rest of the nation did so were also the first states to experience decreasing crime rates.

States with high abortion rates have seen a greater fall in crime since 1985, even after taking into account other factors that would be expected to influence the crime rate. Furthermore, these declines in crime rates in high-abortion states are disproportionately concentrated among those under the age of 25. (Donohue & Levitt, 2001)

In sum, no amount of controversy over abortion can negate the evidence that American women, men, children, and families have reaped great benefits to their physical, mental, and social health from the U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision in Roe v. Wade. Any erosion of a woman's right and access to medically safe, legal abortion jeopardizes the health of women, their families, and the nation as a whole. Medical and Social Benefits

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Many women need to go through counseling, regardless of whether or not they're happy with their decision.

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In a study of post-abortion patients only 8 weeks after their abortion, researchers found that 44% complained of nervous disorders, 36% had experienced sleep disturbances, 31% had regrets about their decision, and 11% had been prescribed psychotropic medicine by their family doctor.

Not because it was a requirement, but as a direct effect of PAS.

Approximately half had many, but not all, symptoms of PTSD, and 20 to 40 percent showed moderate to high levels of stress and avoidance behavior relative to their abortion experiences.

Women may experience abortion as a traumatic event for several reasons. Many are forced into an unwanted abortions by husbands, boyfriends, parents, or others. If the woman has repeatedly been a victim of domineering abuse, such an unwanted abortion may be perceived as the ultimate violation in a life characterized by abuse. Other women, no matter how compelling the reasons they have for seeking an abortion, may still perceive the termination of their pregnancy as the violent killing of their own child. The fear, anxiety, pain, and guilt associated with the procedure are mixed into this perception of grotesque and violent death. Still other women, report that the pain of abortion, inflicted upon them by a masked stranger invading their body, feels identical to rape.

Thirty to fifty percent of aborted women report experiencing sexual dysfunctions, of both short and long duration, beginning immediately after their abortions. These problems may include one or more of the following: loss of pleasure from intercourse, increased pain, an aversion to sex and/or males in general, or the development of a promiscuous life-style.

Approximately 60 percent of women who experience post-abortion sequelae report suicidal ideation, with 28 percent actually attempting suicide, of which half attempted suicide two or more times. Researchers in Finland have identified a strong statistical association between abortion and suicide in a records based study. The identified 73 suicides associated within one year to a pregnancy ending either naturally or by induced abortion. The mean annual suicide rate for all women was 11.3 per 100,000. Suicide rate associated with birth was significantly lower (5.9). Rates for pregnancy loss were significantly higher. For miscarriage the rate was 18.1 per 100,000 and for abortion 34.7 per 100,000. The suicide rate within one year after an abortion was three times higher than for all women, seven times higher than for women carrying to term, and nearly twice as high as for women who suffered a miscarriage. Suicide attempts appear to be especially prevalent among post-abortion teenagers

Women who have one abortion are at increased risk of having additional abortions in the future. Women with a prior abortion experience are four times more likely to abort a current pregnancy than those with no prior abortion history.

This increased risk is associated with the prior abortion due to lowered self esteem, a conscious or unconscious desire for a replacement pregnancy, and increased sexual activity post-abortion. Subsequent abortions may occur because of conflicted desires to become pregnant and have a child and continued pressures to abort, such as abandonment by the new male partner. Aspects of self-punishment through repeated abortions are also reported.

Approximately 45% of all abortions are now repeat abortions. The risk of falling into a repeat abortion pattern should be discussed with a patient considering her first abortion. Furthermore, since women who have more than one abortion are at a significantly increased risk of suffering physical and psychological sequelae, these heightened risks should be thoroughly discussed with women seeking abortions.

This survey instrument was distributed to women who had contact with WEBA, Victims of Choice, or Last Harvest Ministries. The latter two organizations used it as an intake form for women inquiring about post-abortion counseling or crisis pregnancy counseling. Compared to women who received the questionnaire from these latter two sources, the 111 participants from the WEBA distribution were significantly more likely to have already participated in post-abortion healing programs, and were significantly more likely to report feeling "reconciled with" their abortion "today" (56.1% vs 13.9%).

Using chi-square tests for significance, women who had at least one abortion as a teen were significantly more likely to report: nightmares; flashbacks to the abortion; hysterical outbreaks; unforgiveness of those involved; feelings of guilt; fear of punishment from God; fear of harm coming upon their other children; a worsening of negative feelings about the abortion on the anniversary date of the abortion, during a later pregnancy, or when exposed to pro-choice propaganda; preoccupation with thoughts of the child they could have had; excessive interest in pregnant women; excessive interest in babies; experiencing false pregnancies; a dramatic personality change for the worse; a waking or sleeping "visitation" from the aborted child; having talked to the aborted child prior to the abortion.

Women who aborted as teens were significantly less likely to report: a history of professional counseling prior to their abortion; that the memory of the abortion has faded with time; having undergone surgical sterilization to avoid the risk of another abortion; feeling more in touch with their feelings after the abortion; feelings of hatred toward all men.

Women who reported having had more than one abortion were significantly more likely to report: a history of being physically abused as a child; a period of strong feelings of relief after the abortion; being pro-choice after the abortion; hatred of the man who made them pregnant; ending the relationship with their partner after the abortion; difficulty in maintaining and developing personal relationships; becoming promiscuous; being self-destructive; beginning to use or increasing the use of drugs after the abortion; feelings of anxiety; fear of God; fear of another pregnancy; fear of needing another abortion; fear for unknown reasons; frequently experiencing heavy bleeding after the abortion; emotional aftereffects of the abortion which were so severe that there was a period in which they could not function normally at home, work, or in personal relationships; having experienced a nervous breakdown at some time after the abortion.

Women with a history of multiple abortions were significantly less likely to report: that the memory of their abortion was vividly clear; a worsening of abortion related feelings on the anniversary date of the abortion or the due date of the pregnancy.

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Well until your Many Women you are in no position to make that generalization.

I atleast was able to quote a source.

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I am a woman. I've never had an abortion, but I can relate to the fact that if I made a decision to have an abortion, it would be in the best interest of the child. Like I said, many women don't regret abortion as you describe.

Need a source? No problem, my country folk:

"Abortuaries will sometimes ask patients if they can see abortion as a "loving act" toward their children and themselves. Glamour reports that the answer is often affirmative. Kate Michelman, the president of NARAL, goes so far as to claim, "Women can have abortions to be good mothers." In response, Hilary White, Campaign Life Coalition's director of research, asks, "If abortion is such a loving act, if it is the act of a good mother, why don't women do it to their five-year-olds?"

Some of the mothers seem to feel that due to financial or time constraints, they have done their born children a favor by aborting the children in their wombs, thus avoiding the pitting of siblings against each other in a deadly and unnecessary struggle for resources. They don't seem to consider how their surviving children will feel when they find out later that their college education was made possible by the bloody sacrifice of an unknown brother or sister.

Some women, however, express the feeling that they had an abortion for the good of the child they aborted. None of this is new to pro-lifers. The interesting revelation is the reasoning behind these women's decisions to abort."


Read the full article

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Perhaps you didn't see this, but this was a either or step.
If you are not religious then you do not need Divine forgiveness but if you are still suffering from PAS then you should deal with the issue of guilt.

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I'm aware of that, and I was making a point, and stressing the fact that NOT everyone is some wonderful, god-fearing Christian. And, in the same sense, not everyone feels that abortion was the wrong choice. Many women need to go through counseling, regardless of whether or not they're happy with their decision.

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Gah, females.

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i agree with that completely.

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Deal with issues of guilt/seek Divine forgiveness

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Perhaps you didn't see this, but this was a either or step.

If you are not religious then you do not need Divine forgiveness but if you are still suffering from PAS then you should deal with the issue of guilt.

Again this is in the hypothetical situation of have PAS.

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Gah, males

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Gah, females.

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Korith, until you have to deal with the pain of conceiving a child, you'll be in no position to generalize how a woman feels after an abortion. A meager website cannot simplify the feelings and emotions a woman goes through after having an abortion. Not every woman has a religion, so they wouldn't seek divine forgiveness. Many women don't feel the need to forgive themselves, because they've felt they've done what was best for themselves and the child

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When I was very young, I ended up pregnant. I didn't want to get married yet, I certainly didn't want to tell my parents, I didn't think I could have a baby and give it up... so I opted for abortion. The baby's father drove me to another city for our appointment and it was over with. I went on to finish college and have other children. I feel happy with my life and feel successful. The only thing in life that I am truly sorry for is that I had that abortion. I don't know how it would have changed my life - but I'd give anything to do it all over and NOT have the abortion. I know that's impossible, but I will never get over my lost child. I feel that God forgives me... I was young and weak... but I'll never feel like I can forgive myself. I wish I'd either have told my parents and asked for help, or I wish I'd have had the baby and given it up for adoption. I realize that would be very difficult - but at least I would know that I gave my baby life and a family that could provide and love her. I could have given my baby the most precious gift of all. I'll be sorry all my life."

"I was 25 at the time. I had already had two years previous that were difficult from a car accident. My boyfriend and I were breaking up at the time. We had dated for almost four years and my boyfriend at the time didn't want to get married. I loved him, but things were already difficult. My boyfriend and I went to a family planning-Christian place first and all they could talk about was don't have an abortion. I told my parents and he also told his. I was told to make the answer to the problem and no one talked about it. My mother and I went to the apointment and I had an abortion at 8 weeks. I heard the Dr say that I was around that time. Just then my head started saying to me don't do this. I felt bad. Afterwards I felt empty and like someone had pulled something out of me. To this day I regret what happend, but I also feel that it was very difficult for all involved and I am actually very happy with the way my life turned out. Yes, if I had it to do over again I would have kept the baby, but this is the way it went. All I have to say is just take time to think and discuss with all families involved. Not just the father and yourself. Also talk to your family and his family and if possible have a two family meeting to help everyone come to."


"I had an abortion 3 weeks ago and I'm regretting it so much. I've killed my baby. I've been with my b/f for 2 1/2 years and he was adament to have an abortion since i found out i was pregnant. I convinced it was the best thing to do, i guess i was just scared. We booked the appointment and i had the procedure. Of course i though of doing what i wanted and not doing this, but i was just told that it was the best thing to do. Now, 3 weeks on i miss my baby so much and i know that my life will never be the same, i pine for my baby and regret my decision. I only wish i could turn back time."


"I killed my child... came the realization after 15 years... now I grieve and mourn. I was young and the father was easy enough..He did not put up too much of a fight... wished it had gone other-wise.... a life is a life. Pray for us...Thanks"


"The decision to have an abortion was for me, the best choice. And I believe it was the best choice for that baby. That baby was not born to me at that time, when it might have been less than perfect because I had been abusing drugs and alcohol and had multiple partners. I wanted that life to be born in a better way, to someone who really wanted and had planned for it. I truly believe that baby now has a better life than I could have given it. You must consider the life other than your own far above your own....sure, I could have said "oh, I will love this baby so much!" but if I didn't have resources that a new baby needs, and I wasn't able to be a stay-at-home-Mom and hadn't planned and prepared, then I was not the right person to bear that child. I made that decision 23 years ago and am very confident that it was the right thing - I am hoping and praying that other newly-pregnant women will search their hearts for the right thing and the right answer."

"I am a 23 year old woman now 8 months pregnant, and already have a 4 year old daughter. When I was 16 I had an abortion. I was pregnant by a boyfriend that I had not been dating long. I told my mother, because she had to take me, my father never knew. Even though I have one beatiful girl and another on the way, and have experienced the greastness of being a parent, I have no regrets. I was a child myself, and I can't imagine trying to play mom to a baby. I feel as a would have just dumped another responsiblity on my mother that she didn't deserve as a result of my poor decision making. I feel everything happens for a reason. I also feel women should have the choice if they choose it to have an abortion. I know how many people feel about abortions, but I do feel that they have that right. But I am one person who believes that I made the right choice for myself and my life. "

Just a few of the stories on that site.

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you'll be in no position to generalize how a woman feels after an abortion

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Many women don't feel the need to forgive themselves, because they've felt they've done what was best for themselves and the child

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Well until your Many Women you are in no position to make that generalization.

I atleast was able to quote a source.