Pshycological Damages of Abortion

Abortion. (2006). Random House Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved on October 24th, 2007. Dictionary.com.

Messengers2. (2002). Retrieved March 13th, 2008, from http://www.messengers2.com

Many women in the U.S. today opt to have an abortion. Abortion can be described as the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end pregnancy (Abortion, 2006). Although abortion may seem like an easy way out, many women do not think about the after math of the procedure. The fact is abortion can lead to many emotional and psychological damages that can follow that individual for the rest of their lives.

After a woman obtains and abortion she may feel extremely guilty and wish she could have reversed the procedure. Some symptoms they portray are grief, fear, identity problems, no self value, and anger. Mothers who have had previous abortions are more anxious and tend not to anticipate the birth of the following child or prepare for their new baby’s arrival (Messengers2, 2002). Some women feel they should punish themselves for having an abortion so they will not allow themselves to have another child. If the mother does choose to have another newborn she may not nurture it as well due to the fact that she may feel helpless and worthless.

Not only does abortion hurt woman but it can damage the father as well. In most countries the father of the unborn child has no say in the choice of an abortion. Some men fear that their baby will possibly be killed so they do not attach themselves to the pre born baby. Due to the fathers natural instinct to protect their young there can always be an underlying rage, to go with his feeling of helplessness, increases the ideals of rape, marital violence, impotence, and family abandonment (Messengers2, 2002).