Abortion is Harmful

Surgical and Chemical Abortion Harms the Woman

A recent study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health examined medical claim records for more than 1.9 million women and found that induced abortion of a first pregnancy increases the risk of postpartum mental health problems by 10-35%, kills the baby, and also:

• Aggravates:
  • Pre-existing mental illness
  • The onset of problems for women with no history of psychiatric disorders
  • Pregnancy loss prior to a first live birth:
    • Increases the risk of postpartum psychiatric disorders by 10-35%
    • Postpartum psychiatric care requiring hospitalization increased by 83%
    • Risk is most elevated for women who have given birth within 90 days
  • Marked the onset of problems that did not previously exist
• In unresolved memories/emotions and feelings about pregnancy loss:
  • Psychosis during a subsequent pregnancy
  • Left them shattered with:
    • Sadness
    • Heartache
    • Guilt
    • Shame, and
    • Anger
• In traumatic cycles of abandonment, rejection and learned to numb themselves with:
  • Alcohol, Drugs, Repeat Abortions, Eating disorders
  • Depression, Anxiety, Suicidal tendencies
  • Permanent physical and reproductive damage
  • Inability to have children
• Pregnancy loss is a death experience, the demise of a human:
  • Potential
  • Relationship
  • Responsibility
  • Maternal Attachment
  • Connectedness
• Loss is rarely experienced without:
  • Conflict
  • Ambivalence
• When it comes to abortion; many women will not want to talk about it, even in mental health settings because:
  • Abortion is legal
  • Presumed to be safe
  • Identified as a woman’s “right”
• Problems that occur when women are assaulted by their own natural reactions to their loss cause many women to go into treatment for:
  • Anxiety
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Emergency Room visits are common due to pain and blood loss caused by infections from baby body parts retained in the uterus
  • Don’t understand the root of their pain
    • Abortion was their choice
    • There is no social norm for dealing with an abortion
    • Abortion is a deeply private and complex experience
• Women and men have a right to know the risks they face when making an elective decision for abortion before suffering the loss of a child:
  • A profound array of complicated mourning may follow
  • Counselors and mental health professionals are familiar with the risk factors that predict trauma after an abortion. There are programs that address this specific grief:
    • She is not alone
    • Her pain or regret is legitimate
    • She has a right to heal
  • Rachel’s Vineyard: http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/
    • Is a psychological and spiritual journey for healing after an abortion
    • Is active in more than 80 countries and available in dozens of languages

Dr. Theresa Burke, Ph.D., March 5, 2021