Women Suffer Physically and Psychologically After Abortion
Abortion can cause both short-term and long-term physical complications, and can significantly affect a woman’s ability to have healthy future pregnancies. Though there are no requirements for states report abortion data to any federal agency, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control have received reports of the deaths of 336 women from legal abortion between 1973, when abortion was legalized, and 2003. Physical complications included cervical lacerations and injury, uterine perforations, bleeding, hemorrhage, serious infection, pain, and incomplete abortion. Risks of complications increase with gestational age and are dependent upon the abortion procedure. Long-term physical consequence s of abortion include future preterm birth and placenta previa (improper implantation of the placenta) in future pregnancies. Premature delivery is associated with higher rates of cerebral palsy, as well as respiratory, brain and bowl abnormalities. Pregnancies complicated by placenta previa result in high rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, and perinatal death. A review of over 100 long-term international studies concluded that induced abortion increases risks for mood disorders enough to provoke attempts at self-harm. Researchers have also indentified a pattern of psychological problems, known collectively as Post-Abortion Syndrome, in which women may experience depression, anxiety, anger, flashbacks, guilt, grief, denial and relationship problems. Post-Abortion Syndome has been identified in research as a subset of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Further studies analyzing the effects of induced abortion in adolescents have show, when compared to adolescents who give birth, those who abort reported more frequent problems sleeping, more frequent marijuana use, and increased need for psychological counseling.
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Women who are opposed to abortion shouldn't have abortions. They are the ones who end up regretting their decisions.
They're easy to spot. They're typically the ones who come in to the clinic proclaiming "I think abortion is wrong, but in my case it's necessary".
Abortion is a personal and private matter. Period.
Premeditated murder should be private also then shouldn't it? Just because some regret pulling the trigger doesn't mean that it is justified for those who do not feel the slightest bit guilt.
People suffer physically and psychologically after giving birth. Heck, people suffer physically and psychologically after open-heart surgery. Thusly, birth and other difficult and dangerous operations should be made illegal.
I am sure that almost every person that is anti- abortion isn't very concerned about the wellfare of the person getting the abortion... personally i could care less; however, the fact that the death of a child, born or not, is involved tends to move people to sharing my view.
This basically boils down to "we feel it is not safe for you to make your choices, so we're making them for you," and once again takes away all choice.
It's already been pointed out that actual childbirth is harder on a woman's body than on an abortion; it's also true that many women who have abortions have no impact on their well-being (or it's improved, if they had a fetus implant in the fallopian tubes.)
The FRC does not have the authority to make choices for individual women's well-being.
I think everything you've attributed to a safe, legal abortion can be said for any woman who's delivered a child. Thousands of women die around the world because they don't have access to birth control, or medical care during pregnancy nor a place to go to have babies delivered.
Beating women into submission about abortion is cruel and uncaring. I'd like to see the enforced pregnancy crowd do more to make sure all children are wanted, have medical care, food, shelter, and parents who can parent. You want to stop women, millions who are completely unknown to you, from seeking solutions to their private problems. Yet, when that child is born you turn your backs. You tell women that it's their fault that they got pregnant. How many times I've seen remarks like "close your legs next time" or "your mistake isn't my responsibility" on message boards. We have over 9 million children in the United States who have no medical coverage. Where is the pro-pregnancy crowd on that issue? Siding with George Bush that they should have any because we don't want to cut into the insurance companies profit margins or raise taxes to help pay for it. Why is an embryo sacred and a child no more than someone else's mistake?
We have approximately 1.2 million abortions performed in the U.S. every year. Are you going to find one million couples who are willing to adopt a child, every year? Over turning Roe would only increase problems but then you folks are all for that. Let others get the burden of trying to solve them. As far as you're concerned you did your job.
We have nearly 500,000 children living in foster care. Half of those are available for adoption. Many will live in the system because they have past issues, siblings, are the wrong color for some folks, or have medical problems. Once they turn 18 they are out of the system except those with medical disabilities. They have no family to help them. Where are you people in regards to them? Why are there so many of these children living in these situations? Why aren't you making a real effort to get these kids out of foster care and into a good home?
Roe was based on privacy so tell me, how is woman having an abortion any of your business? Unless it's your wife, daughter, or another relative I really can't see why you have any right to interfere. Make the world a welcome place for a child. Help pass laws that provide a living wage to working women and health care for them. Make sure they have good food to eat every day and a safe place to live. Provide help to parents when they are under going the stresses of parenting. Let no child have to live in a homeless shelter. When we can solve these major problems then let's sit down and have a chat about the morality of poking your nose into other people's privacy.
Oh, and by the way, I've had two safe legal abortions in my life. No, I don't feel guilty and no, I don't regret my decision. My spiritual beliefs say embryos aren't fully human and until they take that first breathe they are not of this world. So you see, I'm not buying into your guilt trip. Your concept of God seems to make that deity pretty weak and incompetent as far as I'm concerned. How you choose to worship your god is your business but you have no right to force me to live according to those beliefs. A woman's abortion has no financial or physical impact on your life so leave them alone and leave them in peace. We can't even take care of the children who are here now and you want to bring more of them into this mess.
You stated that one of the main reasons abortion is benefitial the the wellfare of the United States is because it helps prevent lives that might end up hard and miserable such as kids growing up in foster care of without health benefits... Does this mean that every person in this country that is homeless or under tough circumstances doesn't deserve life?
I could not have said it better.......Nonsense made perfect sense to me and my views...
I also had 1 abortion after my husband had a vasectomy and I already had 6 children..I never ever regreted my choice nor did he......
It is between me,doctor,husband and god......Not the United States government!!
so what if your husband had a vasectomy?? you already had 6 children, you know the joy they bring!! and if you didn't want the baby, you could have given it up for adoption, give it to a family that wanted the baby, instead of killing it! if you didn't want another kid, you should have used a CONDOM or BIRTH CONTROL OF SOME SORT BEFORE YOU HAD SEX!!!!
She said her husband had a vasectomy. The failure rate is only about .01%-1%. THIS IS BIRTH CONTROL!!!!! Are you brain dead?
Yes, I am sure having six children shows you the joys of having a child, but it also shows you the trials, tribulations, etc. of child rearing as well. What about the strain on a family of eight bringing another child in the world? Frankly, is it even any of your business?
And by the way, to condemn someone who, even by anti-choicer's standards "played" by the rules and did use birth control is pretty weak. So now her and her husband have to throw on three condoms cover themselves in spermicidal, use a diaphram, and be on the pill, as well as taking Plan B after the fact? Is that enough for you? No, because if even after all this, she was unfortunate enough to get pregnant, you would condemn her anyway for not being "careful" or "responsible" enough.
Do you have any adopted children? I am tired of your crowd spouting out hate and then passing the buck to some random family that wants a baby through the adoption system. Put your money where your mouth is. Keep your legs crossed horribledisaster.
The only women who suffer psychologically are the ones who buy into the evangelicals' irrational anti-abortion propaganda. Women who do not are fine.
However, the issue is not whether women suffer. The issue is whether women should have a right to abort a fetus or not. The answer is that they should and do have that right, because in all reason, a fetus does not have rights.
It is true that there are risks associated with abortion but there are also risks associated with childbirth. In 2002 alone there were 357 maternal deaths in the USA ( http://mchb.hrsa.gov/mchirc / chusa_04/pages/0409mm.htm).
I would be interested to see what percentage of legal abortions ended in death as this would be a far more instructive indication of its risks.
Childbirth has numerous health risks (many of which are similar/the same as the ones you describe for abortion) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childbirth #Complications_and_risks_of_birth
There are also psychological risks associated with childbirth. Post Natal Depression may affect 1 in 10 women ( http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/mentalhealthproblems/postnatalmentalhealth/postnataldepression.aspx ) and can be a severely debilitating illness.