Psychological
Consequences
Clinical
research provides a growing body of scientific evidence that having an abortion can cause
psychological harm to some women. "Women who report negative after-effects from
abortion know exactly what their problem is," observed psychologist Wanda Franz,
Ph.D., in a March 1989 congressional hearing on the impact of abortion. "They report
horrible nightmares of children calling them from trash cans, of body parts, and
blood," Franz told the Congressional panel. "When they are reminded of the
abortion," Franz testified, "the women re-experienced it with terrible
psychological pain ... They feel worthless and victimized because they failed at the most
natural of human activities -- the role of being a mother." The
emergence of chemical abortion methods poses a new possibly more devastating psychological
threat. Unlike surgical abortions, in which women rarely see the cut up body parts, women
having chemical abortions often do see the complete tiny bodies of their unborn children
and are even able to distinguish the child’s developing hands, eyes, etc. So
traumatic is this for some women that both patients and researchers involved in these
studies have recommended that women unprepared for the experience of seeing their aborted
children not take the drugs. Long-term psychological implications of this experience
have not been studied. Researchers
on the after-effects of abortion have identified a pattern of psychological problems known
as Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS). Women suffering PAS may experience drug and alcohol
abuse, personal relationship disorders, sexual dysfunction, repeated abortions,
communications difficulties, damaged self-esteem, and even attempt suicide. Post-Abortion
Syndrome appears to be a type of pattern of denial which may last for five to ten years
before emotional difficulties surface. Now
that some clinicians have established that there is an identifiable patterns to PAS, they
face a new challenge. What is still unknown is how widespread psychological problems are
among women who have had abortions. A Los Angeles Times survey in 1989 found that 56% of
women who had abortions felt guilty about it, and 26% "mostly regretted the abortion." Clinicians’ current goal should be to conduct extensive national
research studies to obtain data on the psychological after-effects of abortion. With
the growing awareness of Post Abortion Syndrome in scholarly and clinical circles, women
with PAS can expect to receive a more sensitive appreciation of the suffering that they
endure. Fortunately, a growing network of peer support groups of women who have had
abortions offers assistance to women who are experiencing emotional difficulties. |
