“The damage that (the abortion) did to my mental health was only because of the laws that were in place. If I had to watch my daughter die in front of me instead, my mental health would have been much worse.”
, could have negative impacts on mental health for those unable to access abortion care, in addition to the physical and financial burden that can come with carrying an unwanted pregnancy.Researchers say it's a common misperception that people who have abortions end up feeling intense regret or negative mental health consequences after their decision. In a previous Supreme Court decision,
in 2018, found no major differences in suicide risk among women who received or were denied an abortion over the five years after the event. Those who were most likely to have an elevated risk for suicide or self-harm in this study were those who had a previous history of mental health conditions, abuse or violence.have been published in peer-reviewed journals using data from the Turnaway Study.
Feeling confident that an abortion was the right decision is something Dr. Nancy Stanwood, section chief of family planning, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine, has seen in her own patients."People know where they want their life to go. They are steering their own ship," she told TODAY."We help get them on their way by providing the medical care that they need.
"Literally, I took a breath, and the next thing I did was pick up the phone and call Planned Parenthood. ... I knew there was no way I was going to have another child right now," she recalled."But I very much remember feeling like I was doing something really wrong." For instance, despite being so confident in her decision, Olive only began to feel comfortable discussing her abortion with her mother in the last year or so. She was also afraid to tell her current boyfriend about the abortion because she was worried he would see her as sexually promiscuous or have doubts about her being a good mother one day.
. She had to walk through anti-abortion protesters outside the clinic. And an issue with the anesthesia during her abortion left her with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder for years afterward.
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