There is little need to posit a unique disorder in this case, since abortion is not significantly different from any other stressful life experience that might cause trauma in certain people. Arthur 7)

This trauma can then be dealt with in a logical and constructive manner, befitting any other stressful life event, such as the loss of a partner in a separation, being fired from a job or getting into a car accident. Depression, protracted grief or general feelings of guilt, when they occurs must be treated as a logical outgrowth of life stress not as a special case of social and emotional concern, because of the nature of the stress.

Arthur 7) Though this is not to say that the situation does not require consideration of emotions particular to the guilt, sadness and/or feelings of abandonment that could be directly and particular to the associated of abortion it does not need to be focused on in such a manner as to make the situation worse.

In fact the situation of abortion seeking is a particularly promising one when it is guised correctly, as the event of stress occurs in conjunction with the fact that there are clinically sensitive (hopefully) care providers available to the woman at the time of an hopefully after the event stressor.

Counseling is a vital element of care, moving postabortion services from being purely curative to being preventive. It helps providers determine when women need special care because of extreme emotional distress or circumstances such as young age, inexperience with the health care system or fear of discrimination.

Corbett, and Turner 106)

The event if performed in an

Additionally, a practice of follow-up that involves post abortion counseling in situations of high risk for distress is a likely occurrence, barring that clinicians are particularly blase about the situation as a result of having been through it on a professional level so many times.
Corbett, and Turner 106)

In closing the demonstrative research associated with post-abortion emotional distress is clouded by bias, a situation that should be corrected. The debate about abortion tends to drive ideologically driven research on the emotional effects of abortion. The research that is decidedly more balanced indicates that for the most part there are relatively few cases of extreme emotional distress post-abortion and often those extremes occur because of secondary causation, high risk factors for emotional distress, in context. Another important point is that for the most part post-abortion emotional complications can be dealt with in much the same manner as any other serious life stress emotional response and that the case of abortion is particularly promising in that the woman has access to intervention at most stages of the process.

Works Cited

Arthur, Joyce. "Psychological Aftereffects of Abortion: The Rest of the Story." The Humanist Mar.-Apr. 1997: 7.

Bullough, Vern L. "The Abortion Debate." Free Inquiry Summer 1996: 16.

Corbett, Maureen R., and Katherine L. Turner. "Essential Elements of Postabortion Care: Origins, Evolution and Future Directions." International Family Planning Perspectives 29.3 (2003): 106.

Irwin, Harry. "Choice: Tone it Down." The Nation 5 Apr. 2004: 23.

Kalish, Stacey. "Lingering Thoughts about Abortion: Male Grief Is Hidden." Psychology Today May-June 2004: 14.

Ponnuru, Ramesh. "Abortion Now: Thirty Years after Roe, a Daunting Landscape." National Review 27 Jan.