Flawed Study & Report?

There is no link between mental health and abortion? Harumph!

The article states that they only looked at women who'd had one abortion, and who were not teenagers at the time. Well, from what I understand, you've now specifically selected a population that probably understands better what choice they are making. And, would likely have a better "support" system and less social recrimination. They probably don't have as much likelihood of having mental health problems.

And, yet, the study ignored teenage abortions and those women who have had one or more previous abortions. There must be some mental anguish, if not a diagnosable mental disease, and I am sure there are issues with guilt, relationships, and other life choices.

With my previous post on miscarriages, I wanted to note something. There might not be any link between "mental health" and abortion. But I know that there is an emotional link to the loss of a pregnancy- no matter what the cause. Maybe these women were relieved, but I still have "what if" thoughts and questions about a baby that couldn't make it. What would I wonder if that baby had a chance and I'd taken it away? I think even if I'd had an abortion for a very good reason, I would always wonder "what if" and be sad.

I am reading a book called The Philosopher's Apprentice (and I don't recommend this book). Part of the subplot is that there is a sci-fi spin with a machine that is able to "clone." Some evil people (the "Corporate Christi" as the protagonist/author has named them) get their hands on it and create a mob of "netherborn": aborted fetuses generated into adults. These aborted fetuses come back to "haunt" their "parents". The book doesn't project forward enough to make a comment on the abortion rate change. I really can only see it dropping off.

Ironically, I read another book this week, which I would recommend, called The Lady of Milkweed Manor. It tells a story of an unwed mother in the 1800s who goes to a "laying-in" hospital where she has her son and then decides to give him up for adoption. It was a heart-wrenching, tear-jerking story because of the author's pathos. I truly felt the pain of that poor mother and cried with her as she saw her options of providing for her child: abject poverty with her son knowing her as his mother or luxurious riches, education, a warm and loving family without ever knowing the woman who loved him more than herself. An amazingly selfless sacrifice. I wish more women were able to make that choice.

I hope they do more studies and find that, although there may not be a diagnosable "mental health" issue related to abortions, at least finding there are long-term consequences and that women need to be better educated about their options. Of course, my bias is to put an "unwanted" baby up for adoption, but then I think of it as a wanted baby, and not an unwanted pregnancy.