Abortion does not ALWAYS cause 'long-lasting emotional damage' so can those who spout this please desist.

[Bubble99]

Abortion, on the whole, is a 'necessary evil', IMO.

There will, of course, be women who suffer from infertility in later life - who regret abortion during their younger years. But, for the vast majority, I imagine, there is an overwhelming sense of relief that they do not have to give birth to a child that they cannot give loving and willing care to.

I'm waiting for the 'adoption' view but this, IMO, is fraught.

i am hearting you bubble.

very sane, and warmly put post

we regret many many things with the benefit of hindsight....

I agree. I am fortunate enough never to have been in this position. The few close friends who have discussed their terminations with me do not appear to have felt long-lasting emotional damage.

Hear, hear.

What happened before there was safe, legal abortion in this country? Why, women had unsafe, illegal abortions, and died in their thousands as a result.

Agree, necessary evil.

I quite agree.

I agree.

Disagree.

WTF, who on earth can say anything causes long-lasting emotional damage, to everyone?

Oh good god I'm glad I'm not mucking in on the abortion thread!

[lurking refuge in reasonable thread]

posting nothing anywhere.

I don't even think I can be bothered reading the abortion thread. I will just end up annoyed and outraged. And wanting to hold grudges against people, which is never a good thing.

(I do feel inclined to go on and post that every time there's a medical warning about the pill, there's a blip in abortions a few months down the line ...)

I agree in theory (didn't know there was an abortion thread tbh) but in my case the abortion I in no way regretted for 10 years became a very big issue for me when I had dd nearly two years ago. I have come to terms with it now but it shows how long these things can take to come out emotionally.

an unplanned pregnancy whatever the outcome is decided can be traumatic IME unless people have been in the situation of being pregnant and really really not wanting a for whatever reason should keep their mouth shut and their fingers off the keyboard IMHO.

I would say I am anti-abortion as a whole but think it is a necessary evil and would never condemn anyone for their choices, and would hate to see a return to backstreet abortions. No-one knows what they would do in anyone elses situation so who are they to judge.

I keep away from all those threads (except this one I guess)

Message withdrawn

no, of course not always but...it is not unusual to feel guilt or sadness or regret. perhaps not necessarily at the time but during subsequent pregnancies. women who feel these things should be supported and should not have their feelings dismissed either.
and I don't think it is necessarily to do with fertility problems. TOP doesn't often cause a risk to fertility either.
and there is some evidence that young women, particularly those without support, can be at greater risk from mental health problems.
and of course, as Dinosaur points out, millions of women still only have access to unsafe abortions, which carry high death rates. no one could want to return to that

(I haven't been on the other thread btw)

Oh, I'm not saying sadness, regret, or anything is not going to happen. I'm just objecting to the idea that everyone would have the same response, whatever that response would be. That's telling other people how they must feel (whether you're saying they must be an emotional cripple, or whether you're saying they must glibbly skip away from the clinic, singing a happy tune).

Unfortunately, I've got involved in the other thread, but will probably stop as it is pointless, really.

agree with bubbles post

I shouldn't be on this thread.
I run a website for women who have unplanned pregnancies. I get lots of emails in response to it. A fair majority are from women who want to keep the baby but their parents/partner doesn't and they feel bullied into getting an abortion, they are usually very young too. I also get mails from women who've had abortions and bitterly regret it, they too say that they never wanted to go through with it, they felt pressurised.

I think abortion is too easy. There are not enough people sitting the woman down on her own and asking her what SHE wants to do. They now want to reduce the number of doctors you have to see to just one. I think this will make the problem worse.

I do think that those who want an abortion 100% with no regrets are very few and far between. I don't think people want to look at the negatives or possible side effects, they just spout on about the woman's choice. Well it's not much of a choice if no-one is asking you want YOU want is it?

Abortion does not ALWAYS cause 'long-lasting emotional damage' so can those who spout this please desist

Does for the poor baby....

Rhubarb can I have a link to your website please?

susanjayneh - but so does being unwanted, unloved, abused and abandoned.

Thousands of couples waiting to adopt....

I fail to see how being aborted causes 'long-lasting emotional damage' to the baby.

Well, I know, Juule, but I could kind of see the point that susanjaneh was making.

But I don't think that adoption is always an answer to an unwanted pregnancy - many adopted children find the fact that they were given up by their birth parents very hard to deal with, and for many women their very pregnancy is an issue (if they are very young, for example). And it's a hard burden to bear, I imagine, wondering every day for the rest of your life where your child is, how they are, whether they will try to find you, what you will say when they do.

I think abortion is a tremenously difficult and emotive topic, and one on which you can never generalise. Which is the point the OP was making, I think.

I've not had an abortion, but my best friend had one at 19, and it did not cause her long-lasting emotional damage.