Consequences of Abortion for Women 1

Consequences of Abortion for Women

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Consequences of Abortion for Women 2

Introduction

Abortion is the act of terminating a pregnancy either through medicine or surgery. There

are four common types of pregnancy termination including medical abortion, vacuum aspiration,

dilation and extraction. These types of abortions are applicable at different period of pregnancy

(10-12 weeks,12 to 16 weeks, after 16 weeks etc) (Gerdts, 2016). Abortion is legal in some

countries but illegal in others. The legality or illegality of abortion depends on the perceived

health conditions that abortion. For instance, abortion might be encouraged to save the life of a

mother in conditions like heart disease where a mother cannot handle carry the pregnancy for

nine months. On the other hand, countries against abortion see the disadvantages of after

abortion, which may include heavy bleeding, infection, damage of internal organs among others.

This essay critically analyzes the consequences of abortion for women to find out if the act

should be discouraged or encouraged.

Consequences of Abortion

Psychological consequences 

Generally, women are considered to be vulnerable. Abortion can be advantageous on one

side however on the other side it may cause mental instability. Research shows that the

possibility of psychological consequences of abortion has been neglected. These consequences

are widespread and can be short term or long term. One of the consequences is the fear of not

giving birth again, especially when a woman experiences complications during an abortion.

Among the complications includes damaged uterus, excessive bleeding and infection

when undertaking the procedure. To some women, the complications might lead to trauma that

further hampers women’s mental stability and might even affect their current and future
Consequences of Abortion for Women 3

relationships (Gerdts, 2016). Abortion can also cause depression especially when the victim

remembers the procedure. Depression might hamper the victims’ future and self-growth. 

After the abortion, many women experience feelings of great sadness, regret and

depression. Some women suffer from brief psychosis that may lead to the development of a

psychiatric disorder. Factors that mainly contribute to these psychiatric disorders are biological

susceptibility, psychosocial stress and feelings of grief and sadness. Some women develop

serious mental disorders requiring to be admitted to psychiatric facilities. Additionally, other

women experience Post-Traumatic Disorders (PTSD). About 19% of women with PTSD are

associated with abortion cases (Heartbeat International, 2000). PTSD is a mental disorder that

occurs due to the experience of a traumatic event.

Women may not always want to undergo abortions, as some of them are forced by their

husbands, parents, boyfriends or other people in society. Therefore, it is always a traumatic

event, being subjected to such an ordeal. For other women, even with valid reasons for going

through an abortion, they still suffer from the trauma of having killed their child. Other

psychological effects of abortion are having suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. 60% of

women who terminate a pregnancy experience suicidal ideation, with 28% attempting to commit

suicide more than once (Priscilla, 2011). In a study conducted by researchers in Finland, they

identified a great statistical relation between cases of abortions and suicide reported. Attempts of

suicide are most common among teenagers who go through an abortion experience. Despite the

major psychological consequences, the area of abortion has highly been neglected. According to

the research by Pourreza and Batebi (2011),at least a third of victims of abortion experience

psychological side effects. Depression was found to be the major side effects where people

worry about the possibility of not conceiving again.

Consequences of Abortion for Women 4

Emotional Consequences 

Among the major emotional consequences of abortion is the feeling of negative self-

image. Self-image is how one perceives oneself. Abortion makes the victim doubt her

capabilities especially with the perception that she has committed murder. The second emotional

consequence is that the sexual life of the individual who has undergone the procedure is partially

disintegrated. Study illustrates that women who have undergone induced abortion have a

problem when it comes to sexual satisfaction. Their sexual desire is often low due to the

procedure which interferes with their hormones that are supposed to bring up the orgasmic

function. When such happens, women might find it hard to engage in meaningful relationships or

even develop their families. Victims of abortion also get to find out that whenever they use

contraceptives they fail to work most of the time. This might affect their pregnancy planning

schedules resulting in emotional discomfort. Instead of feeling relieved after the procedure, most

women feel a lot of bitterness within them. The bitterness in them makes them question their

capability of being human even after finishing off an innocent life. The urge of feeling guilty

clouds their minds and emotion which overpowers the reason as to why they had to do the

procedure in the first place.

  Ladies who have gone through an abortion also find it very hard to form emotional

attachments in their relationships. Most of them are involved in divorce and often experience

chronic relationship problems. Abortion usually results in problems in the relationship where the

man is either blaming the lady or vice versa. Many couples who are either married or in

relationships end up separating or divorcing because of the atmosphere brought about by

abortion. Females develop a problem of creating emotional bonds with their male counterparts

due to post-abortion effects such as depression, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, sexual dysfunction
Consequences of Abortion for Women 5

or even substance abuse (Heartbeat International, 2000). Additionally, women with an

experience of abortion are mostly at risk of having multiple abortions in future. Due to lowered

self-esteem, there is always a desire to consciously or unconsciously replace the child.

Successive abortions may be due to post-abortion desires to conceive, and the pressure of

abortion may be due to being abandoned by a partner. Some women punish themselves by

having multiple abortions. It is necessary that the victims of abortion, whether it is wanted or

unwanted to receive counselling to avoid cases of repeated abortions.

Behavioral Consequences

These are the behaviours one has during post-abortion. The first behaviour is an eating

disorder that results from stress and depression. The symptoms of eating disorder entail restricted

eating patterns, rumination disorder, pica, underweight, overeating among others (Gerdts, 2016).

Abortion might also result in alcohol and drug abuse. According to research, the victims of first

pregnancy are 5 times likely to engage in drug use than those who carry the pregnancy (Martino,

et al., 2006). Additionally, women who go through abortions have also been found to have

increased smoking desires which may cause negative effects on their health. Research shows that

women who have undergone abortion are twice at a risk of becoming chain smokers compared to

those with no abortion history (Reardon, 2000). The increased susceptibility to drug and

substance abuse among women who have undergone abortion can be attributed to the fact that

teenagers are the most vulnerable population to engage in abortion, and the substance use

behaviour can be related to increased levels of discomfort, stress and regrets that of conducting

the activity.

Women who have gone through abortions are usually judged by society and seen as

social misfits, therefore. Most of them choose to avoid society by avoiding being in crowds or
Consequences of Abortion for Women 6

even having friends. Most of the time they are usually on their own or locked up in their houses.

During this time, they go through emotional turmoil, as they are alone with no one to share their

burdens with. They mainly go through episodes of sudden uncontrolled crying which gets them

through the day. Also, they may develop the behaviour of hyper-alertness where they are

sensitive to common sounds that they might have heard in the abortion room or during that

experience. Some women may also develop the behaviour of being more sexually active to get

pregnant, due to the need to replace their lost child. Last but not least, post-abortion women may

also suffer from irregular sleeping patterns where they sleep at odd times of the day and are

awake at odd hours of the night. Additionally, abortion reduces self-worth hence affecting

normal activities of the victims. For example, a teenager who aborts while in lower levels of

learning is likely to register low grads due to discomfort, psychological torture as well as societal

pressure that she is likely to face within her environment. The behavioral consequences of

abortion have negative effects such as adverse negative effects like violent behavior, loss of jobs,

accidents or even contraction of sexually transmitted diseases.

Conclusion

This essay critically analyzes the consequences of abortion for women to find out if the

act should be discouraged or encouraged. Women who go through abortion procedures, whether

they are legal or illegal suffer from emotional, psychological and behavioural effects. These

effects are a result of feelings of regret, sadness, decreased self-esteem or even judgments from

society. People who have gone through abortion procedures should be taken through counselling

to enable them to be able to regain their self-esteem and to be able to lead a normal life. Also,

society should try and be considerate and less-judgmental when it comes to such cases, as it

would help these women to be able to talk about their experiences freely without fear, and
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society can help them in their post-abortion emotional recovery journey. As a long term measure,

there should be intensive awareness towards young people through sex education and also the

provision of family planning and pregnancy prevention medication. 

Bibliography
Consequences of Abortion for Women 8

Cozzarelli, C. e. a., 2000. Psychological Responses of Women After First-Trimester Abortion.

Arch Gen Psychiatry, pp. 777-784.

Reardon, G. N., 2000. Abortion and Subsequent Substance Abuse. Journal of drug and Alcohol

Abuse, pp. 61-75.

Gerdts, D. G. F. B. S., 2016. Side Effects, Physical Health Consequences, and Mortality

Associated with Abortion and Birth After an Unwanted Pregnancy. Womens Health

Issues, pp. 55-59.

Heartbeat International, 1997. A list of Major Psychological Effects of Abortion. Heartbeat

International.

Martino, S., Collins, R., Ellickson, P. & Klein, D., 2006. Exploring the Link Between Substance

Use and Abortion: The Roles of Unconventionality and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Healh, 38(2), pp. 66 - 75.

Pourreza, A. & Batebi, A., 2011. Psychological Consequences of Abortion among the Post

Abortion Care Seeking Women in Tehran. Iran Journal of Psychiatry, 6(1), pp. 31-36.

Priscilla, K., 2011. Psychological effects of Abortion. British Journal of Psychiatry.

Sullins, P., 2019. Affective and Substance Abuse Disorders Following Abortion by Pregnancy

Intention in the United States. PMC, p. 741.

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