Post abortion syndrome
Juliet Acosta
Health and Lifestyle 101
Research Project #1 Issue #13: “Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?” Abortion remains to be one of the most controversially debated issues internationally. Pro-life and pro-choice groups continue to research and contemplate whether the information of the relationship between abortion and depression has quantifiable data. Pro-life groups advocate that the correlation between abortion and mental distress in women is in fact valid due to multiple studies, and that this information should be made available to women. However, pro-choice groups claim that the data linking abortion and depression is invalid and weak, and that it is no more damaging to the mother than if she were to carry the child to full term and to birth the child. Pro-life supporters debate that the unborn fetus is in fact a human life, and if the mother is to abort, it is essentially murder. Pro-choice groups believe that it is a woman’s right to choose whether she wants to carry her child to term, and if she cannot make that choice she has then lost a human right. The pro-choice organizations and supports do believe that the fetus is human life, however, that it is not constituted on the same level of the woman. I chose to analyze these opposing views because it is, and has remained to be, an issue that has yet to be resolved and intrigues my interest as an individual and as a woman. The first article I read from the text book was written by Ian Gentles, entitled, “Poor God-Crazed Rhonda: Daring to Challenge the ‘Scientific Consensus,’ The Human Life Review (Spring 2007)”. In the article, Gentles speaks in response to the second article written by Emily Bazelon, entitled, “‘Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?’ New York Times Magazine (January 21, 2007)”. Gentles provides evidence to refute Bazelon’s assurance and argument that women who have an induced abortion are not at risk for psychological distress any more than a woman who carries an
Health and Lifestyle 101
Research Project #1 Issue #13: “Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?” Abortion remains to be one of the most controversially debated issues internationally. Pro-life and pro-choice groups continue to research and contemplate whether the information of the relationship between abortion and depression has quantifiable data. Pro-life groups advocate that the correlation between abortion and mental distress in women is in fact valid due to multiple studies, and that this information should be made available to women. However, pro-choice groups claim that the data linking abortion and depression is invalid and weak, and that it is no more damaging to the mother than if she were to carry the child to full term and to birth the child. Pro-life supporters debate that the unborn fetus is in fact a human life, and if the mother is to abort, it is essentially murder. Pro-choice groups believe that it is a woman’s right to choose whether she wants to carry her child to term, and if she cannot make that choice she has then lost a human right. The pro-choice organizations and supports do believe that the fetus is human life, however, that it is not constituted on the same level of the woman. I chose to analyze these opposing views because it is, and has remained to be, an issue that has yet to be resolved and intrigues my interest as an individual and as a woman. The first article I read from the text book was written by Ian Gentles, entitled, “Poor God-Crazed Rhonda: Daring to Challenge the ‘Scientific Consensus,’ The Human Life Review (Spring 2007)”. In the article, Gentles speaks in response to the second article written by Emily Bazelon, entitled, “‘Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?’ New York Times Magazine (January 21, 2007)”. Gentles provides evidence to refute Bazelon’s assurance and argument that women who have an induced abortion are not at risk for psychological distress any more than a woman who carries an