Courtesy of Think Progress:
According to a new study that tracked hundreds of women who had abortions, more than 95 percent of participants reported that ending a pregnancy was the right decision for them. Feelings of relief outweighed any negative emotions, even three years after the procedure.
Researchers examined both women who had first-trimester abortions and women who had procedures after that point (which are often characterized as “late-term abortions”). When it came to women’s emotions following the abortion, or their opinions about whether or not it was the right choice, they didn’t find any meaningful difference between the two groups.
These findings contradict the notion that women experience negative mental health effects after ending a pregnancy, as well as the idea that later abortions are more psychologically traumatic.
Though there’s no scientific evidence to support the idea that abortion is linked to a greater risk of mental health problems, this framework is often used to justify passing additional restrictions on the procedure. Seven states, for instance, have mandatory counseling laws that require pregnant women to receive information about abortion’s negative psychological consequences before they’re allowed to proceed. Some of those materials specifically reference “postabortion traumatic stress syndrome,” a supposed disorder that isn’t recognized by the American Psychological Association or the American Psychiatric Association.
Yeah I think we all kind of knew this already.
In my past I have had relationships with three different women who had abortions before meeting me, and not one of them were exactly torn up over the decision. In fact all of them had children later on in life.
And one even had children with the man responsible for her terminated pregnancy.
Did I mention that one was also the daughter of a minister?
So there you go another bullshit argument against a woman's right to choose bites the dust.
If I could say something to the women with these signs that regretted their abortions (and I'm a guy so it's not really my place to tell women anything about that), it would be something like this:
ReplyDelete"I'm sorry you regret your abortion. If you would stop shutting down Planned Parenthood perhaps you could make use of their services and learn how to not get knocked up again.....oh, and they might help you not die of cancer also"
That's all I got.....
That's pretty good. I respect your comments and I'm a woman.
DeleteMe too. Great comment.
DeleteR in NC
I agree, but I have mixed emotions about mine. I think it's mostly because I didn't feel like I had a choice with mine- my husband told me to either get the abortion, or he'd either "take care of it" himself or have me declared an unfit mother, take my child away, and I'd never see my child again.
DeleteI'm not a paragon of success, but I'm no less fit a parent than 99% of parents out there. He just had me mind fucked so hard I believed him when he said that.
Now, I'm both sad that I do not have children, and glad that I have no children with him.
So, 4:33, planned parenthood is the only avenue people, young people- women, have, to learn how to avoid getting pregnant and get condoms?
DeleteDon't be ridiculous, 3:14. He never suggested any such thing. What he DID do was tell us what he would say to any woman in that picture holding that sign, which was assumed to be held outside a PP office.
DeleteOh. And if the so-called right-to-lifers have their way? The youngsters you mentioned and questioned about wouldn't have anything to use as a source! And that includes KNOWLEDGE, 'cause they sure aren't getting that in a lot of (if not all) abstinence only states.
Planned Parenthood provides sliding-scale payment. Many women who couldn't otherwise afford it use their services for annual exams, birth control, and pre-natal care. Many college students do as well. And then there are the young women and teenagers who go to planned parenthood because their parents wouldn't approve which rules out the family practitioner.
DeleteHere "WE" go again. It took 2 to create. It is 2 that makes the decision to terminate a pregnancy. FOR WHATEVER REASON ......once again it is "the woman's" fault and decision. Those women whom become impregnated by some MAN is responsible for that. And she is once again the villain. It is a private, personal, medical decision made by one man and one woman and the medical professional. NObody else. especially the takers sitting in our buildings in dc. and certainly not the republikkkan evil clown show.
ReplyDeleteDisagree. When I had my abortion, it was MY choice. Period. Not the sperm contributor, and not the doctor. They weren't the ones who were pregnant, I was.
DeleteI'm a guy. We do not grow entirely new human beings in our bodies and then push them out into the world and, when push comes to shove, have to raise them.
DeleteHow dare I tell a woman what to do in this situation.
Have never regretted mine, just saying.
ReplyDeleteDitto! I had an abortion almost 30 years ago, and I've never regretted it either. I've just been so glad that I had the option.
DeleteAnon at 5:07 I beg to differ with you, sometimes (most times I would guess) it is not the decision of a man and a woman, it is a decision by a lone woman. The decision is between her and her own mind, no one else has any say in it whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteI beg to differ with you. The man had a decision to have sex or not, to use his own protection or not, and to have the discussion on "oopsy" pregnancies and abortion before sleeping with the woman. See? Lots of decisions made!
DeleteI do believe this, but to be fair, most women do not discuss their abortions. I can only speak for myself. "Regret" is certainly the wrong word. Do I wish I'd been smarter, more careful, even more brave? Sure. But I know I'm where I'm supposed to be, and I know that had I had a baby at 18 I wouldn't be here.
ReplyDeleteI'd be lying if I said I didn't with the entire episode never happened, but I don't beat myself up and pretend I should have done something else.
I do believe there are women who sincerely regret their abortion, and I don't think they should be ridiculed for it. I do think it's a very complicated issue, and if you're going to trust women with this decision then you have to trust them when they tell you how they feel about his decision.
I think, like any big, irrevocable decision, there's a chance you may think you made the wrong choice, but don't lie to women about it.
It wasn't a complicated issue for me at all.
DeleteIt wasn't complicated for me either. My boyfriend paid and my mother took me to the clinic.
DeleteBut whether or not something is "complicated" does not mean one can't conflicted about the decision. It may be the right decision to put your dog to sleep, but that doesn't mean you aren't heartbroken over it or second guessing every step of the way.
It was not complicated for me in ANY way. I wasn't heartbroken nor did I second guess my decision for a single second.
DeleteIt is better for a few women to regret a decision they were free to make than to deny every other woman the right to make that decision.
DeleteMany have mixed feelings after choosing to have an abortion. But for most, the main emotion is "relief."
DeleteI had an abortion. My boy friend (later my husband) and I decided to have an abortion for two important reasons. 33 years later, neither of us regrets it. We went on to have two children later.
ReplyDeleteI have the same experience....the timing was horrible and it was the right decision. I did marry my partner and had 2 beautiful girls 10 years later. I must admit I used to think about it when Samantha was born....knowing she wasn't the first baby we created, mostly because she would have had a sibling. My problem was being extremely fertile...I was on birth control so after that it was condom plus. The fact is these hypocrites close down Family Planning and completely ignore the baby & mom if one decides to give birth. This is a horrible choice for any woman...only she understands the father relationship as the bottom line is she is committing herself forever to a child. If they really believed all their bullshit having a child would be supported not demonized.
DeleteAnother non-regretter here: when I decided to have an abortion my lover decided he didn't know me, and I couldn't even feed myself more than one meal a day. I couldn't face poverty so severe.
ReplyDeleteA friend in the same situation was a minister's daughter. Her father pushed the abortion idea to her because "what would people think (of him)??"
Did the guy who regrets his "lost fatherhood" want to marry the woman he got pregnant, did he offer to help raise his child, did he make any provisions for pregnancy prevention when he had sex with the mother?
ReplyDeleteWhen men act responsibly then they have some right to have a say on this issue. Until then, men should just shut up - they are minimally fifty percent responsible for the problem. I say "minimally" because they can always walk away from any complications like a baby on the way. Just think of Bristol Palin who either isn't sure who her next child's father is or is embarrassed to admit it. Not a good way for a child to start his/her life.
Beaglemom
Had two, regret neither.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was faced with an unexpected pregnancy, I chose NOT to have an abortion. But that was my CHOICE I wasn't being forced to do something I didn't want to do. Abortion should be safe, legal and available to all women. Do I regret my choice? No. Am I glad I had the option of abortion available? Absolutely.
ReplyDeleteAbortion: Safe, Legal, and Rare.
ReplyDeleteYou can stop with "Safe, legal."
Deleteit would be rare if this country wasn't so 19th-century about birth control. Cheap or free birth control = fewer abortions. Cheap or free birth control = fewer unplanned/unwanted children.
DeleteSafe, legal, and as rare or common as necessary
Delete"Rare" as when needed when birth control fails, or when dictated by a medical decision between the birth mother and her physician.
Delete@7:29 Concur. Have you ever met a Pro-Choice person who thought it was a good choice? It's a GOP wedge issue to influence the witless to vote for them. "Values Voters" pin their vote to these issues ( opposition to marriage equality is another) to elect GOP candidates who are pissing on their leg and telling them it's raining.
ReplyDeleteSlightly off point, but I so detest the term anti-abortion. After all, it implies that other people are pro-abortion. The issue is choice. Some people want women to have it and others don't, period. Same with pro-life(=anti- choice), pro-gun(=pro-gun violence) etc. We are all guilty of adding to the problem by using mostly conservative terminology on these issues.
ReplyDeleteHow many women regret their marriages? How many women and men regret lost educational and career opportunities? Life is full of regrets but the decision whether to bring a new life into the world is not one taken lightly by any woman.
ReplyDeleteOur local Planned Parenthood clinic is staffed by some of the best health care workers in the city. It's maddening that they have to put up with a small, but tenacious, group of hateful white men who scream and act the fool all day long outside of their clinic.
The so-called "pro life" movement has murdered doctors, nurses, and other clinic staff and has bombed clinics all over the country. How is that being pro life?
"pro life" movement
DeleteWhen domestic terrorism was alive and well in the good old USA.
As a 61 year old gay man, I always knew I'd never find myself in this predicament, nor assist any woman into it, so pro-choice was always a no-brainer and the only position my conscience would be at ease with.
ReplyDeleteNo woman has ever arrogantly presumed the right to tell me how to manage my testicles, so her dominion over her own ovaries is just as sacred.
I once watched a show on our local "Christian" station about women who regret their abortion. What linked them together were most of them were in really shitty situation at the time-the sperm donors were total losers or married men, these women were partying way too much, they were caught up in illegal practices. In other words, they were trashy Bristol Palin types. Now of course, they have found Jaysus, and want other women denied the same choice they had.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the importance of keeping abortion legal and maintaining women's access to abortion and other reproductive rights I can't recommend Katha Pollitt's book Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights enough.
https://thebookselfblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/book-review-pro-reclaiming-abortion-rights-by-katha-pollitt/
Jennifer K
The people in that photo should be ashamed of themselves. I'd have more regrets putting a child up for adoption on the chance that it ends up in one of these yahoo's homes than I imagine I would if I had an abortion.
ReplyDeleteI'm pro choice, which means I'm pro all choices. Don't want an abortion, fine, don't have one.
If men bore children, there'd be more safe abortion clinics than Starbucks, Walmart and gas stations combined.
The guy who regrets lost fatherhood? Yeah, right.