The Danish study concludes there is not a statistically significant difference in mental health issues in women before and after an abortion. In fact, the study tries to debunk the notion that terminating a pregnancy can trigger mental health issues, and tries to show that postpartum depression is a much greater factor than abortion.
However, this study is flawed, and presents a view that is not at all consistent with more than 30 studies that have been published in recent years showing abortion does increase the risk for a variety of mental health issues. This, or any study, that does not acknowledge the strong evidence now available in all of the professional literature represents a conscious choice to ignore basic principles of scientific integrity.
Women should be able to make an informed choice regarding abortion. That choice should be based on accurate information, with an unbiased and valid synopsis of the available studies on the increased risks of abortion. This should include information about depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, as well as suicidal thoughts.
Millions are currently making the life-altering abortion decision without accurate and unbiased information.
One of the biggest flaws in the Danish study is it’s duration. It only followed women for 12 months after their abortion or childbirth.
While it is valid that women are most likely to experience postpartum psychological problems soon after childbirth, it is very common, and there is plenty of evidence showing, that the negative effects of an abortion may not surface for years.
The death of a child is perhaps the most difficult loss to mourn—even the death of a premature baby, a stillborn child, or a miscarriage. Obstetrical journals describe how nurses, doctors, social workers, and clergy can help parents cope with the loss of children who die in neonatal intensive care units. They assist parents in their mourning and are encouraged to name and hold their dead baby.
Every woman who has an induced abortion also suffers the death of her own child. Yet, these women typically find themselves alone to cope not only with the loss of the child she will never know, she also has to deal with her feelings of personal responsibility in the child’s death. She may have difficulty understanding how on one hand, she feels relief that she is no longer pregnant, but on the other hand, feels a profound sense of loss and emptiness.
Her feelings of relief can continue after the abortion, so that she seems cheerful and accepting of what has happened, but is unwilling to talk about it. These temporary feelings of relief are frequently followed by a period psychiatrists identify as emotional “paralysis,” or post-abortion “numbness.” This may explain why research into the psychological impact of abortion in the immediate post-abortion period often yields negative results.
This is where the Danish study is flawed. It does not consider the long-term impact of abortion. Nor does it consider how the mental issues manifest themselves, or that the mental issues do not always result in a measurable event, such as a woman seeking psychological care.
What is the real emotional impact of abortion?
In the weeks and months after the abortion, feelings of sadness and guilt often threaten to overwhelm the post-abortive woman, yet she is offered no assistance. She is expected to be grateful that “her problem is solved” and to “get on with her life.” Yet, she is very aware of the date her child would have been born.
There are many other reminders that threaten her defensive denials, such as: the anniversary date of the abortion, seeing other children the age her child would have been, Mother’s Day, the sound of the suction machine at the dentist’s office, or the sound of a vacuum cleaner at home, a baby in a television ad, a new pregnancy or having a baby, and others. Any of these may trigger a sudden flood of grief, guilt, anger, and even despair.
Denial and repression may last for years, or even decades, until some event finally triggers a “crisis” which forces a woman to confront her unresolved feelings.
At Word of Hope, we hear from many women who are facing their “crisis” moments. The following are three typical calls.
This was Mary’s experience during her pregnancy and birth of her first child following her abortion:
Throughout my pregnancy I was anxious. The experience of having a baby brought on all the memories of my abortion and an enormous amount of guilt … I thought I would die after seeing my first ultrasound. I watched the screen amazed and mortified. Amazed to see my baby, the outline of her little face, her hands, beating heart, and spine. I was mortified that this is not at all what I thought was being “evacuated” years before when I had an abortion.
For Rebecca, the death of her aborted child also involved the death of part of herself:
A part of me died, and it took me nine years to identify what died. The part of me that died from my abortion was my daughter or son whom I’ll never know. I repressed and denied this for so long that, emotionally, I started to die too. I started to lose interest in life. My husband didn’t matter. My children didn’t matter. I wanted to die, but I never knew why. I felt like I was a lost child who didn’t want to find my way home. I wish people knew how much guilt and pain abortion causes. Abortion destroyed not only my child but it destroyed me. The aborted baby never really goes away.
For Sarah, it was a visit home for her parents’ anniversary and the sight of her nieces and nephews that released her traumatic reactions.
I had an abortion at the age of nineteen. I was fine afterward. I became pregnant again two years later and had another abortion. I used humor and drinking to deal with any negative feelings. I got a good job and traveled and most people thought I had a wonderful, exciting life.
Then, one summer it all fell apart. I was invited home for an anniversary party that my brothers and sisters were having for my parents. I had not been home for years. I felt terrified to go and thought of all the ways I could avoid the trip. I became depressed and started drinking a lot. My friends all asked me what I was afraid of … and I honestly could not tell them. Anyway, I forced myself to go home … and that’s when everything fell apart. Returning home brought up some very painful memories regarding my abortions.
When I saw my parents and all my nieces and nephews I had crazy thoughts … I wondered why I didn’t have kids. I felt like my own children should have been there with us. I felt so much grief! I could not believe the amount of pain and anguish that flooded my heart. I found myself crying all the time and drinking to numb the pain, and wanting to sleep the days away. I stopped eating, and became very withdrawn. I honestly could not function. I told myself I should have never come home. All I could think of was that I had to get away. But even after I left, the grief followed. There was no escaping my misery and it affected everything … my job, my friendships, my self-worth.
The depression, the drinking, the crying spells … it went on for a long time before I sought help.
At Word of Hope over 60 percent of the women who call say there was a period of time during which they did not relate their negative feelings to their abortion. The average time before they associated their negative reactions to their abortion was slightly over five years. This delayed reaction is one of the major reasons why mental health issues resulting from an abortion are so poorly understood by both society and mental health workers.