While not all women will suffer emotional pain after having an abortion, we know that a great many of them will. While the abortion industry denies that ‘post-abortion syndrome’ as a clinical term exists, the medical literature is clear on the subject: 29 out of 30 studies have found that women are at higher risk of mental health disorders after abortion, including depression, anxiety, suicidal behavior, and drug and alcohol abuse. These women need help, but unless they look outside the abortion industry, they’ll not only never get it, but they’ll be told that what they’re experiencing isn’t real. (Remember, according to the abortion industry, 95% of women don’t regret their abortions.)
A post-abortive woman wrote to the Valley Advocate asking for advice. She experienced a crisis pregnancy after her IUD failed, and had an abortion. While she felt that the abortion was the right choice, she said that she and her boyfriend were nervous about having sex, and needed help working through her feelings and fears so they could get back to a normal sex life. Yana Tallon-Hicks, a “pleasure-positive sex writer and educator,” responded.
“Rather than rushing ahead, remind yourselves of all the pleasure that can be found outside of… penetrative sex… without the procreative chances,” she wrote. She then reported that an acquaintance of hers who had also had an abortion had experienced similar issues. “‘I’d think I was okay to be physically intimate because I was in the mood,’ she said, ‘but sometimes my body would just kind of shut down and that’s okay. Let your partner know what you’re feeling in the moment because it can sneak up on you. But you don’t have to feel like there needs to be a logical answer to it.'”
She also acknowledged that both partners can have negative emotions after an abortion. But she recommended that the best way to get over the feelings was through sexual experimentation. “The non-pregnant partner can also feel a confusing mix of guilt, relief, and grief about an abortion, too, of course,” Tallon-Hicks said. “However, as the person who had this event take place in your body, take some time to check in with your own sexual self. Masturbation, fantasy, erotica, and (select) porn can all be great avenues to explore on your own where you can feel that confusing mess of emotions that may come up, but without the pressure of tracking your partner’s reactions.”
The correct answer to a woman who was reporting stress and anxiety after an abortion should probably be to encourage her to see a mental health professional. Remember, the bulk of medical literature — 29 out of 30 studies — found that women are at higher risk for mental health disorders, including anxiety, after an abortion. While the suggestion to take it slow after an abortion is good advice, you can’t cure anxiety with masturbation and porn.
It is unlikely that any follow-up care for a woman who has had an abortion would include questions about her mental state. (Remember, the pro-choice movement wants positive abortion stories, not negative ones.) Post-abortion depression is not given the same attention and care as postpartum depression.
It’s also worth pointing out that the abortion industry has frequently encouraged women, including underage girls, to experiment with dangerous and unhealthy sexual practices. Live Action’s SexEd investigation found that Planned Parenthood counselors, for example, routinely pushed young girls to engage in disturbing behaviors such as BDSM, playing with feces, drinking urine, torture sex, asphyxiation, whipping and choking, and even told that behavior that leaves welts and burns is normal and healthy:
We can’t trust the abortion lobby, whose number one priority is abortion, to have women’s best interests at heart.
