“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born” quoted our past president Ronald Reagan. Imagine that the year is 2025 and you live in California. Abortion is now legal in every state in America. There have been 1 million abortions the past 2 weeks alone. Coming from myself, a responsible student who is also an aunt, I believe that abortion should be illegal. For many important reasons, I feel that everyone could benefit if abortion is illegal. Listen up as I explain the many reasons why making abortion illegal is the best solution in the United States. In the first place, it is believed by some that abortion should be illegal and violates an unborn child's right to life. In the month of January 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is followed by a woman's right to privacy in the first trimester of pregnancy. This ruling took place in 46 of the 50 states (Abortion Timeline). Some states allow abortion up until the fetus would be able to survive if born. At 9 weeks, towards the end of the first trimester, the fetus usually begins sucking their thumb. Around the same time, they have an audible heartbeat. By week 10, all of the major organs have formed and by week 12 …show more content…
Women who get abortions have an 81% higher risk to get a mental health disorder. There is over 50% of an increased chance for post-abortion women to get suicidal thoughts, mood disorders, social anxiety, and abuse alcohol and substances. It was found that 14% of women in the U.S suffer from all symptoms of PTSD post-abortion. After getting an abortion, women are twice as likely to become heavy smokers and still smoke during a wanted pregnancy, which could harm both the mother and child (“Abortion Risks: A list of major psychological complications related to abortion”).Overall, abortion can greatly affect the mental and physical health of post-abortion
Various studies have been conducted to show the psychological effects following an abortion. According to the results some women experience depression and anxiety. These psychological effects reflect on several factors. Abortion may relieve stress by ending an unwanted pregnancy, but the event itself may simultaneously be experienced as a stressor causing anxiety grief, guilt, despair and anger. These factors could lead to depression, as feelings of powerless, anger and self-condemnation are emotions that underlie depression. Controversies exist whether abortion is linked with mental health or not. Future research requires a better understanding of the conditions that lead to unwanted pregnancy and abortion with the ultimate goal of improving women’s lives and well being.
Since abortions legalization in 1973, it has become a topic ensnared by controversies as groups debate abortions moral and ethical consequences. Most often the controversy over abortion comes down to a person’s moral stand point on the subject, however, most people are not apprised of the possible long and short term psychological effects of receiving an abortion. Multiple studies preformed over the years have endeavored to determine the extent abortion has on women’s mental health with vastly varying results. Articles written by Coleman and Fergusson surmise women who undergo an abortion operation are highly prone to experience some variety of psychological harm. Other researchers like the American Psychological Association (APA) task force
One of the most widely discussed issues within the topic of abortion is the mental health of the mother. Research by Guttmacher Advisory says “Based on the best scientific evidence currently available, there is no credible evidence that abortion, in and of itself, causes mental health problems for most women.”(2008). Guttmacher backs their claims with studies and research done by the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA states that many studies didn’t take into account how a woman’s mental health was before thinking about abortion. They also point out that any significant life event is stressful such as divorce or a death so one cannot say abortion
In the overarching state of humanity, few topics are as important to the long term societal standpoint as abortion. Even more important and contested is the controversial subject of whether or not a woman will endure long term psychological effects or disorders after said abortion. This subject has been highly debated, with valid points made by both sides. It is important that we all look into these repercussions, especially since approximately 33% of women will undergo an abortion by the time they reach forty-five years old. This often challenged subject has many aspects. The main ideas that I researched where whether or not having an abortion leads to a higher risk for mental health issues, whether or not “post-abortion syndrome” is a
Abortion has been one of the most controversial topics in America for many decades, especially when it became legal in 1973. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. There are many opinions on this issue, like is it the woman’s choice to terminate the pregnancy? Should abortions only be allowed during the first trimester? Are Plan B pills a form of abortion? When deciding on whether or not a life continues, all of these, and many more, questions need to be asked. Abortion is extremely expensive and harmful to the body of the mother. With all of the controversy, and issues that arise for the woman, and the death of a life, abortion should be made illegal in the United States.
Sharon Salzberg once said, “As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time. It's not that these qualities or actions make us bad people, but they bring tremendous suffering if we don't know how to work with them”. The wake of devastation abortion leaves behind could not be described better. It is argued that it is the woman’s body; therefore it is the woman’s choice. What many do not know, however, is that abortion not only affects the mother, but the father, and of course the child. Guilt, anger, anxiety, depression, broken relationships, “numbing”, and even suicide; all of these are symptoms of Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS). PAS is the emotional/psychological damage women may experience after having an abortion. According to Dangers of Legal Abortion by Ann Saltenberger, women who have had abortions are nine times more likely to attempt suicide than women in the general population. Men, or the father, portray a range of emotions after their partner’s abortion. These include grief, guilt,
Abortion can cause periods of depression in which the pain can encysted. Some women become aggressive or nervous, or even hyperactive. Anxiety can find an answer food such as bulimia or, conversely, anorexia. For others, psychosomatic reactions will take over with stomach aches, absence of periods, headaches, the loss of self-esteem ("I'm bad, I'm unworthy, painful for others"), the fear of not being pregnant again or anxiety of existential insecurity are consequences commonly observed. Some episodes of a woman’s life can relive the acutely suffering felt at the time of abortion: the date in which the child had been born, or the anniversary date of the abortion, the desire to make present the dead child, are conducive to outbreaks of suffering intensely lived as, for example, anxiety or depressive
The first right in the US Constitution is the right to life, yet our country has decided it’s okay for us to rob certain citizens of this right. It has become legal for us to kill them when they cannot defend themselves physically or in a legal sense. Just because a baby is not yet born does not make them any less of a living, human being. In this speech, I’m going to share with you the reasons I believe abortion should be made illegal in our country today.
In ,“pro life: Abortion Controversy”, waltman states, “According to the Endowment for Human Development, between three and four weeks after conception, an unborn-child's heart begins to beat, and roughly nine weeks after conception a baby will respond to sound, yawn, and suck their thumbs” (Waltman). By week ten , all the major body organs have formed. During the last week of the first trimester (week twelve), blood begins to form in the bone marrow of the fetus, the kidneys begin to create urine and the fetus can fall asleep and wake up. Also by week twenty, the fetus is able to feel and recoil from pain. Taking that into consideration, if a woman was to have an abortion at or after twenty weeks of a pregnancy, the baby would be able to feel the pain of its limbs being tugged on and ripped off. In biology the definition of life is, the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death. Knowing the Biology definition of life, the fetus is growing, has functional activity, including sucking its thumb, rolling over, and recoiling/ feeling pain, therefore the fetus could easily be born prematurely (early) and
Many studies have shown that abortions can cause psychological damage including an increased risk of depression and anxiety. “A peer-reviewed 2005 study published in BMC Medicine found that women who underwent an abortion had ‘significantly higher’ anxiety scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale up to five years after the pregnancy termination.” (ProCon 6) Those who are pro-life believe that abortions will help the mother live a normal life instead of having to take care of an unwanted baby. Studies have shown that people who get abortions usually end of regretting their decision. Getting an abortion may have seemed to be the right choice at the time, but when the mother’s relieve what they actually have done it can cause them to become depressed as shown in these studies. Not only can abortions cause psychological damage, but also physical damage. Many studies have linked an increased risk of breast cancer to abortion. “A Feb. 2014 study published in the peer-reviewed Cancer Causes and Control found that abortion ‘is significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer’ and that ‘the risk of breast cancer increases as the number of [abortions] increases.’”(ProCon 16) Based on the number of abortions you have your risk of breast cancer can increase. Additional, most women who get an abortion end up getting more than one. In their case their risk of
Bellieni, Carlo V.Buonocore, Giuseppe. "Abortion And Subsequent Mental Health: Review Of The Literature." Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences 67.5 (2013): 301-310. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.
The emotional and mental side effects of abortion can be overwhelming. According to Psychology Today, “No matter your philosophical, religious, or political views on abortion, the fact of the matter is, the actual experience can affect women not only on a personal level but can potentially have psychological repercussions.” (Susanne Babbel, October 2010) The symptoms include guilt, anxiety, numbness, depression, reliving the experience, avoidance behaviors, preoccupation with becoming pregnant again, bonding issues with other children, self abuse, anniversary disorder and suicidal thoughts. There are some experts who argue that Post Abortion Stress Syndrome does not exist. However, even most of them will not deny the fact that “normal” feelings of sadness and regret are evident in women who have experienced
The practice of abortions throughout the United States are safe. Abortions have become safer since the procedure was reluctantly legalized in the United States-by the Supreme Court-in 1973. According to The American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs the number of deaths associated with abortion drastically dropped from roughly four out of every one hundred thousand women in 1973 to .6 per every one hundred thousand women in 1997 (Abortion is Safe). These statistics show that procedure in how an abortion is performed has become safer since legalization. Legalization of abortion permitted the procedure to be performed in a sterile setting- such as a hospital operating room. The medical risk associated with an abortion procedure is highly overestimated. An abortion performed exactly as medically advised carries half the risk of a tonsillectomy (Abortion is Safe). (A tonsillectomy is a simple procedure that is performed on many children in their childhood.) On the other hand, anti-abortion advocates point to emotional problems that could harm the pregnant woman after an abortion. These advocates attempt to show there is a link to mental disorders in post abortion women. A New Zealand study looked to verify this claim. The analysis showed that there was a credible link between depression, suicide attempts and substance abuse in post abortion women (Cords). Researchers also aimed to connect having an abortion with post-traumatic stress disorder
Foremost, abortion has been linked to numerous psychological disorders, detrimental and benign. In 2006, a study conducted by Sleep, the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, found that 36% of women who experienced an abortion surgery suffered sleeping disorders and nightmares. Of that 36%, 11% were affected further resulting from the sleeping disorder. Studies have shown that cases of insomnia have been discovered; thus, affecting those women’s lives even further. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry published an astonishing study in 2010 including a sample of 3000 females. They determined that women who underwent an abortion were 98% more susceptible to mental health disorders opposed to the
Statement of Problem: Abortion is defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Today, especially here in the United States of America, there is a growing issue and debate around the idea of abortion. There is a stigma against abortion because of the possibility of negative religious, political, medical, emotional, and mental consequences it may cause. Each year, worldwide there is an estimated 42 billion abortions that take place. This number does not include abortions that are not performed by professionals. The big issue alongside with abortion itself, is the affects it has on the mental health of females who undergo the procedure.