Duh!

Well since my computer crashed, I wonder if my post ever got published. I was wondering if the depression these flawed studies tout was more due to the victim-blaming, the lack of compassion, the judging, and the finger-pointing that many women who want an abortion face. It seems that they want to instill a guilt-trip into the woman and I am wondering if that is where the depression comes from.

Perhaps the religious right has created a sense of self-prophecy here...guilt-tripping women into depression and then touting it as oh abortion causes depression...

Well since my computer crashed, I wonder if my post ever got published. I was wondering if the depression these flawed studies tout was more due to the victim-blaming, the lack of compassion, the judging, and the finger-pointing that many women who want an abortion face. It seems that they want to instill a guilt-trip into the woman and I am wondering if that is where the depression comes from.

Perhaps the religious right has created a sense of self-prophecy here...guilt-tripping women into depression and then touting it as oh abortion causes depression...

I posted the same article in my blog and got a comment from the editor of LifeNews.com.

*Snort*

He tried to convince me that other studies exist to "prove" that abortion is, in fact, linked to depression. Hm, I wonder who funded the studies? I wonder why only LifeNews.com has published these studies and not MSNBC?

Religious wackos rarely let silly little things like truth and facts get in the way of a good con job.

Just because you find it hard to believe that no one ever would become depressed following an abortion does not make you a religious wacko.

"The researchers also noted that efforts to show that the syndrome does exist are politically motivated. (You don't say!)"

Gee, and the same cannot be said for this study as well? Probably a bit politcally motivated as well. You should not commit the genetic fallacy of dismissing an argument because you do not like the source.

How about some outrage over the practice of forced abortion? How many unborn girls are killed in China and the world because of abortion? And the fact the President-elect Obama will restore funding to organizations that help propagate forced abortions. I would like to see some criticism of that.

Do you need a study to prove that having an abortion can cause emotional distress?

It would be ridiculous to claim that no women ever have abortion-related mental health issues.

The right is trying to pathologize abortion and that's not good, but this is just as bad in the other direction. I would be offended that an organization like John Hopkins is claiming to have a monopoly on knowledge about the mental health of women.

If one of my friends were to have an abortion and were suffering distress from the experience, should I say to her, "You know, there's no statistical proof your distress is real"?

Yes, but according to Jessica's post they are denying the pathology (good) but also denying any mental distress:

"no reputable study done that can show having an abortion causes mental health or emotional distress or the existence of a "post-abortion syndrome."

I don't think we disagree, I just want to point out that it sounds like we're taking it a little too far in the opposite direction of pathologizing abortion-related mental health problems.

you know what else is probably often accompanied by depression?

being raped and having to carry the child to term.

giving birth to a child you can't afford to take care of.

being forced to give up your child for adoption.

dying as a result of pregnancy complications.

In my experience, finding out you have an unwanted pregnancy is far more traumatizing than an abortion. It would appear that if one were to be traumatized from finding out they were pregnant, and/or deciding to have an abortion, and/or the abortion its self all of those negative feelings would hit AFTER it was all said and done. Thus, a post-abortion syndrome wouldn't necessarily be caused by the abortion even if there was evidence that it existed.

To be fair, this is not "More evidence." This is simply referring to a review of the "already existing evidence." One could say that it "confirms that 'post-abortion syndrome' is a politically motivated myth" but there's no novel studies being presented here. Just a rehashing of the work that's already been done.

This is also a little misleading. The article specifically says, "long-term mental health." Yet when it was transferred to this site Jessica simply wrote "mental health distress."

I find it a little easier to stomach that there are no long-term mental health effects, but the way it was presented here made it seem like women are not troubled at all after experiencing an abortion and that women who have depressive episodes after an abortion are statistically invisible.

Hey, has anyone here ever found getting an abortion to be a positive experience?

When I found out I was pregnant, I felt horrible. I kept crying, I felt guilty, dirty. My boyfriend and I had already decided that if I ever was to get pregnant, I'd have an abortion, and he would pay any expenses. Even though I was pro-choice, I had been raised Catholic, and gone to a Catholic school, and there was this little niggling voice at the back of my head, telling me that what I was going to do was wrong. I stayed at my boyfriend's place, hiding from my family, until the day of my appointment.

When I got to the clinic, I was a little surprised at the diversity of people there. There was a teenaged girl in a hoodie wearing a nose ring; a couple white middle class women, one with her husband and one with her mom; a very slight, young looking Chinese girl with her Chinese-gangsta boyfriend; a South Asian woman whose husband was waiting outside with their kids; and a Muslim girl with an older man who I assumed to be her father - he did all the talking for her - both very traditionally dressed. To be in the same room with so many different women, all of us going through the same thing... it was kind of neat. I chatted with the South Asian woman for a bit, she had just had a baby and had gotten pregnant again right away, and had too many kids to deal with.

The nurses and doctors were great - professional, but supportive. Before the procedure they asked if there were any religious or moral issues I wanted to discuss, and I said no. I got two different kinds of pain killers, a shot of morphine and laughing gas, but it still hurt a lot. But it was short. In the recovery room the nurse was very friendly, passing around cookies and giving recommendations about birth control options. They had these pecan cookies that were really good.

I was buzzed for the rest of the day. Not just on the drugs, but on relief. I felt a hundred times lighter. My boyfriend, who had been concerned and supportive the entire time, had been waiting for me in the lobby, and he told me later that while he was waiting, he was thinking that he's going to be doing a lot more worrying in waiting rooms in the future, when we do decide to have kids. He said that the way we had gotten through the experience together proved how strong we were as a couple, and that we would make good parents one day.

So it wasn't really a bad experience at all. I felt connected to the other women in the clinic. My relationship with my boyfriend really grew and strengthened. And I got some fun drugs. I'm not saying that I'd want to get an abortion again. But I do feel that it has positively effected my life.

Hey, has anyone here ever found getting an abortion to be a positive experience?

When I found out I was pregnant, I felt horrible. I kept crying, I felt guilty, dirty. My boyfriend and I had already decided that if I ever was to get pregnant, I'd have an abortion, and he would pay any expenses. Even though I was pro-choice, I had been raised Catholic, and gone to a Catholic school, and there was this little niggling voice at the back of my head, telling me that what I was going to do was wrong. I stayed at my boyfriend's place, hiding from my family, until the day of my appointment.

When I got to the clinic, I was a little surprised at the diversity of people there. There was a teenaged girl in a hoodie wearing a nose ring; a couple white middle class women, one with her husband and one with her mom; a very slight, young looking Chinese girl with her Chinese-gangsta boyfriend; a South Asian woman whose husband was waiting outside with their kids; and a Muslim girl with an older man who I assumed to be her father - he did all the talking for her - both very traditionally dressed. To be in the same room with so many different women, all of us going through the same thing... it was kind of neat. I chatted with the South Asian woman for a bit, she had just had a baby and had gotten pregnant again right away, and had too many kids to deal with.

The nurses and doctors were great - professional, but supportive. Before the procedure they asked if there were any religious or moral issues I wanted to discuss, and I said no. I got two different kinds of pain killers, a shot of morphine and laughing gas, but it still hurt a lot. But it was short. In the recovery room the nurse was very friendly, passing around cookies and giving recommendations about birth control options. They had these pecan cookies that were really good.

I was buzzed for the rest of the day. Not just on the drugs, but on relief. I felt a hundred times lighter. My boyfriend, who had been concerned and supportive the entire time, had been waiting for me in the lobby, and he told me later that while he was waiting, he was thinking that he's going to be doing a lot more worrying in waiting rooms in the future, when we do decide to have kids. He said that the way we had gotten through the experience together proved how strong we were as a couple, and that we would make good parents one day.

So it wasn't really a bad experience at all. I felt connected to the other women in the clinic. My relationship with my boyfriend really grew and strengthened. And I got some fun drugs. I'm not saying that I'd want to get an abortion again. But I do feel that it has positively effected my life.

"Hey, has anyone here ever found getting an abortion to be a positive experience?"

Having at least two abortions that I know of, allowed my wife to conceal the fact that she had been having affairs, including getting pregnant one month before our wedding (in both cases she was unsure of whether those men or I were the father). This allowed her to preserve the image of a happy marriage, and me to be ignorantly happy not knowing.

I consider my wife's abortions to be positive, because her affairs and abortions coming to light allowed us to relate on a deeper level. I had naively believed I was marrying a near perfect woman, and that in being married, I was "keeping" my girlfriend. (Getting married at 28 was only my second "serious" relationship, and we taught each other about sex.) I've grown up some since then. Decades of marriage and raising children is not like the thrill of dating.

My wife, who is strongly influenced by post WWII traditional Japanese culture, considered marriage a business partnership, with her looking after the home, and the man (no one in particular) providing financially. Unknown to me in the early years of our relationship, my wife did not "love" me in the western or romantic sense, despite saying she "loved" me. (She and I also "loved" watching Japanese animation together while dating.) Seeing the marriage in jeopardy made my wife reevaluate how she felt about our relationship, and me. She realized she had her own reasons for being with me. I allow her to stay or go at her discretion. She had more money than I did before we were married, and due to our circumstances, she has at least three times the assets I do (Japanese bank accounts are not held jointly; she has "her" money saved for herself and the children. "My" money was spent on living expenses and my education.).

Ironically, I'll bet the same folks who are convinced Post-Abortion Syndrome does exist are the same folks that are convinced PMS and Postpartum depression don't exist.

YMMV but the only thing that distresses me mentally about my abortion is how other people treat me once they know I've had it.

I have had more than one abortion and I was deeply miserable after each one. Having said that, I don't see the need to make a syndrome out of it. I had upsetting experiences and was very sad afterwards. Sadness is a normal human reaction to upsetting life events, especially ones that convention forbids sharing with your family and friends for fear of condemnation.

Despite the sadness I experienced, I am glad I had a choice. Carrying an unwanted pregnancy in difficult circumstances would not have made my life easier, more pleasant or happier. Those who think that forcing women to carry an unwanted child will somehow make everything alright must be living in cloud cuckoo land.

But you know, even if a study was one day to definitively show there was a causative link between abortion and depression, it wouldn't constitute an argument against abortion. It would merely indicate a need for more counselling and support. It's normal in the UK, for example, to offer heart surgery patients counselling and support because many suffer depression during the recovery period. Nobody is arguing against heart surgery however.

If you do not want to be a mother to your son or daughter then why not adopt to someone who does?

The end result is the same, you are not responsible for bringing up your child so your life will not be inconvenienced by him or her.

My only response to those who insist that women should only ever adopt, not abort, is this:

How many adopted children do **you** have?

So, blue collar, how many adopted children do **you** have? One? Two? Three? Ten?

Because you see, unless you're like the ONE and only person I've ever met who is pro-life AND has adopted children (lovely woman, actually, I adore her, she's also a foster mother), everything out of your mouth after "I can't adopt because of - " is bullshit.

Put your money where your mouth is.