PTSD Symptoms Following Abortion

A 1990 review of methodologically-sound studies into the psychological effects of legal abortions in US women concluded that “legal abortion of an unwanted pregnancy in the first trimester does not pose a psychological hazard for most women”.

The analysis reported that women may experience regret, sadness, or guilt, but that the incidence of severe negative reactions after abortion is low. One of the studies reviewed found that 76 percent of interviewed women experienced relief after their abortion, while only 17 percent felt guilt.

A conclusion was that “severe negative reactions [after abortion] are rare and are in line with those following other normal life stresses”. Interestingly enough, a 2008 systematic review of mental health after abortion found that high-quality studies demonstrated no or few psychological consequences after abortion, while low-quality (AKA biased) studies were more likely to report such consequences.

It appears to be completely logical that women who were facing a truly unwanted pregnancy, or women who were totally comfortable with their decision to have an abortion, tend to experience little but relief in the aftermath.

Statistics and studies are useful, but they never tell all. They are altogether irrelevant if you are personally affected by something the majority of people don't suffer with. The chances are that you, personally, know a woman who had an abortion and who later had nightmares, flashbacks, constant negative feelings, or who blamed herself or others. She may have told you about it, or she may have kept it to herself.

On the internet, women who had abortions speak more freely about the feelings that had afterwards — anonymously, without the risk of social stigma in their own circles (either for the abortion, or the feelings that came after). Conduct a web search yourself, and you'll find their stories for yourself. Of course, the skeptic in everyone says, some of these women are actually pro-life activists incognito.

Even the most cynical person will have to admit that actual women share their actual stories online, however, and many of them are certainly heartbreaking. They are something else too: familiar to the PTSD symptoms I experienced before I went into therapy.

So, let's forget about “Post-Abortion Syndrome” if you like — the term is politically loaded, and it doesn't appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Instead, let's take a look at the diagnostic criteria for a disorder that is recognized by all. Just Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, without any mention of abortion in the name.

Before we do so, I'd like to return to the study from above briefly and argue that abortion is not a "normal life stress" at all. There is no way of knowing how many women really experience mental health difficulties after abortion, but even the staunchest pro-choice activist will recognize that deciding on an abortion is hard and life-changing. It's nothing like worrying about the next electricity bill, that horrible co-worker, or even chronic medical conditions.