WOMENS MENTAL HEALTH AFTER ABORTION

Womens Mental Health after Abortion

Literature Review

Introduction

According to Steinberg, Tschann, Fergerson, and Harper (2016), a significant percentage of women in the country procure an abortion before the age of 45 (63). The authors in this case indicate that the said percentage could be as high as 30%. Despite this, abortion remains one of the most controversial issues in the contemporary society. As a consequence of the controversy surrounding this particular issue, many myths have emerged around the subject. This is more so the case in relation to the connection between abortion and physical as well as mental health. According to Steinberg, Tschann, Fergerson, and Harper (2016), most of the myths propagated on this front are not evidence-based. For this reason, there is need to explore available scientific research regarding the impact that abortion has on the health and wellbeing of women specifically mental health. Towards this end, the present research seeks to find an answer to the query: how does abortion affect mental health? The relevance of a review of this nature cannot be overstated given the huge percentage of women who procure abortion in the country at some point in their lives.

Prior to the 1969, no meaningful data on abortion on abortion was being collected in the U.S. This is because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had not yet commenced the documentation of abortion rates and occurrences. The said surveillance, as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) indicates, commenced in the year 1969. To a large extent, there exists no standard definition of abortion. This essentially means that in the past, numerous definitions have been floated in an attempt to conceptualize the term in diverse contexts. However, from a legal standpoint, abortion is defined as an intervention performed by a licensed clinician within the limits of state regulations, that is intended to terminate a suspected or known ongoing intrauterine pregnancy and that does not result in a live birth (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). This is the definition that will be embraced in this text. There are various kinds of abortion procedures that are often performed. The most common ones are the use of pills and vacuum aspiration (Johnson, 2021). According to the author, whereas the former involves the ingestion of a prescription pill (typically mifepristone), the latter involves the removal of the pregnancy via the utilization of gentle suction. Both approaches depend on the pregnancy stage. For instance, the use of pills is ideal during the early stages of the pregnancy, whereas the use of vacuum suction is ideal in later pregnancy stages, i.e. in the second trimester.

According to the American Psychological Association (2018), there are numerous reasons for a woman to seek an abortion. In seeking to explore these factors, there would be need to rope in the relevant sociological concepts. The concepts that have been explored in this case are: conflict theory, critical race theory, and cultural theory. To begin with, when it comes to the conflict theory, the focus happens to be on tensions as a consequence of the uneven distribution of power, status, as well as resources in the society. This particular theory was originally proposed by Karl Max. Thus, from a conflict theory perspective, abortion could be as a consequence of competition for limited resources. The focus on this front is on the economic pressures that motivate the decision to procure an abortion. This perspective is reinforced by the fact that as Yazdkhasti, Pourreza, Pirak, and Abdi (2015) point out, unintended pregnancies could in some instances have negative consequences on the economic and financial fronts. In the words of the authors, this is more so in relation to appreciable socioeconomic burden on individuals and society (12). Thus, for those women who are unsure of how to provide for the unborn child, procuring an abortion could appear to be the most rational course of action. This is an especially important finding owing to the fact that as the authors further indicate, a significant percentage (up to 50%) of pregnancies in the U.S. could be classified as unwanted. On the other hand, with regard to the critical race theory, the most outstanding factor happens to be the institutionalization of racial discrimination. This is to say that the various procedures, rules, as well as regulations and laws in the country are skewed in favor of some races which effectively means that differential outcomes by race are largely inevitable (Ziegler, 2020). It is important to note that according to Cohen (2008), African American women tend to have a higher rate of abortion than their white counterparts. Indeed, according to the author, in comparison to their white counterparts, African American women have a 5-fold likelihood of procuring an abortion. In what appears to be consistent with the critical race theory, the author is categorical that these higher unintended pregnancy rates reflect the particular difficulties that many women in minority communities face in accessing high-quality contraceptive services and in using their chosen method of birth control consistently and effectively over long periods of time (Cohen, 2008). Lastly, we could also assess the issue of abortion from the perspective of cultural ideology. Cultural ideology largely relates to the various beliefs and viewpoints (rooted in culture) that specific groups or classes identify with. Over the last few decades, the U.S. has moved towards reproductive choice effectively meaning that unlike ws the case a few decades ago, most citizens of this great country now have access to abortion services and care that could be deemed high quality. This is more so the case following what we could now perceive as a landmark decision in 1973 by the Supreme Court that essentially legalized abortion, but permitted states to restrict the same to some extent. This resulted in a shift of sorts in terms of the ideological perspectives regarding access to abortion services.

Abortion and Mental Health

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that there appears to be conflicting findings from various studies about the impact of abortion on mental health. This is to say that whereas some studies indicate that abortion is linked to a wide range of psychological problems including, but not limited to negative feelings, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there are other studies that have found no evidence of psychological distress among...…prior to the abortion, i.e. to help the woman with the decision making process which, as has been indicated elsewhere in this text, could result in poor mental health outcomes following the abortion. One of the most crucial resources that offers pre-abortion support is All-Options (https://www.all-options.org/). On the other hand, a key resource for those who have already procured an abortion is Exhale (https://exhaleprovoice.org/).

Next, those close to the woman could lend the much needed emotional and physical support before and following an abortion to limit or minimize short-term negative feelings such as guilt and regret. Some of those who could play this crucial role are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; family members, friends, and spouse. This support could also come in handy in efforts to protect women procure an abortion from any form of stigma.

The Future

It should be noted that in the recent past, there has been marked increase in abortion restrictions in the U.S. According to Nash (2021), states have enacted 106 abortion restrictions so far in 2021, a year that has been marked by unprecedented threats to U.S. abortion rights and access. According to the author, this move could largely be attributed to a rise in worldviews and perspectives that are socially conservative. The author indicates that going forward, more states are likely to effect abortion bans. This, according to the author, could have a negative effect on the health and wellbeing of women as most women seek to procure abortions from backstreet clinics. To counter the likely unintended effects of abortion bans, I would propose that states engage in deliberate measures to expand access to family planning and contraceptive education.

Gaps in Current Research

Steinberg, Tschann, Fergerson, and Harper (2016) make an observation to the effect that most of the research has focused on the post-abortion mental health of women. For this reason, the authors are categorical that there is need for greater focus on the psychological health of women pre-abortion. This is a warranted area of research owing to the fact that as has been pointed out elsewhere in this review, close to a third of women in the country seek abortion services before hitting middle age.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, it should be noted that in recent times, overwhelming evidence has been presented clearly indicating that there is no direct link between abortion and the development of mental disorders among women who procure an abortion. This is to say that abortion, by itself, does not have any impact on a womans mental health. It should be noted that this is a position that largely differs with my prior assumptions about the association between abortion and mental health of women. For instance, I was convinced that a woman who does procure an abortion would likely experience intense negative feelings in the short term which could then morph into major depressive symptoms. My assertion was largely founded upon the perspective of abortion as an undertaking involving the intentional destruction of life. Available evidence, however, points us to co-occurring risk factors as being the actual culprit in as far as post-abortion negative feelings, and/or, negative mental health outcomes are concerned. For this reason, efforts to minimize…