What is Abortion and What Effect Does it Have On Women?

Jaelee Jagan

“Whether and to what extent induced abortions should be permitted, encouraged, or severely repressed is a social issue that has divided theologians, philosophers, and legislators for centuries.” (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2).  

Women worldwide are being judged because they have recited an abortion. Abortions can be costly, and some insurance does not cover it. Having an abortion done has dramatic effects on a person, and when they are ridiculed for having one, it adds for stress onto them. Our president has currently shut down Planned Parenthood, which is leaving women with limited resources for them to obtain the medical assistance they need. This is a need treatment, and it is being ignored. 

Abortion can affect a women’s attitude towards life. In this paper, I will be discussing the different areas that abortion changes, i.e. mental health, physical body, and self-esteem, in order to understand a woman better who has received this medical treatment.

What is Abortion?

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Abortion can be defined as the removal of an embryo/ fetus, resulting in the termination of the pregnancy. Abortions come in many different forms like a spontaneous abortion, which is like a miscarriage, and a planned abortion is when a woman goes to an abortion clinic so she can deliberately have the baby removed. A woman can also receive an abortion pill. An abortion can be done because a woman is not ready to be a mother, but also because they were put into a situation and they do not have to have the child, i.e. if a woman was raped and she does not want the child or if going through with the pregnancy will be life-threatening.

“Millions of people face unplanned pregnancies every year, and about 4 out of 10 of them decide to age an abortion. Some people with planned pregnancies also get abortions because of health or safety reasons. Overall, 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will have an abortion by the time they’re 45 years old.” (Planned Parenthood, 1).  

Abortion in the U.S was made legal because of the 1973 case Rove v. Wade. The case was about the Supreme Court ruled the Texas state law of banning abortions unconstitutional. The court viewed that the first trimester was a good time to get an abortion. In 1970, New York was the first state to make abortion legal, repealing a law made in 1830, also long as a pregnant woman requests it and if they were 24 weeks or less along with their pregnancy. If a woman was to request an abortion after 24 weeks, she would be denied unless their pregnancy is life-threatening. In 1971, New York also said that performing an abortion is not a criminal offence. (Anonymous, 1).

A Women’s Mental Health 

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Abortions can mess with a women’s head from debating whether or not to get an abortion and if their family will support their decisions. “In addition, bit depression… and anxiety… significantly decreased over time.” (Erika Limoncina, Angela D’Alfonsob, Claudia Corallinoa, Vincenza Cofinic, Giovanna Di Febbob, Giacomo Cioccaa, Daniele Mollaiolia, Felice Patacchiolab, Emmanuele A. Janninid and Gaspare Cartab, 1). Many people, in this paper, ran some data on how wanting an abortion affects their emotional state. They indirectly say that when a woman first receives an abortion, the person becomes depressed, and their anxiety skyrockets, but after a while, the depression and anxiety decrease.  

“From the questioning, it was possible. To ascertain the proportion of young women who met DSM-IV criteria for the following disorders during the intervals 15-18, 18-21 and 21-25 years: a) major depression; b) anxiety disorders (including generalized anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia and specific phobia); c) alcohol dependence; d) illicit drug dependence …supplemented by measures if self-reported suicidal ideation and attempts.” (David M. Fergusson, L. John Horwood, and Elizabeth M. Ridder, 17-18). In this paper, the authors measured the mental health in people who are 15-25 years olds who fit into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which I believe is in New Zealand, who have received abortions. This data was performed on a group of people that were asked several questions about their mental health, and from the questions, the researchers determined that women suffered from these things.  

A Women’s Physical Body 

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“The main risks associated with an abortion are infection of the womb, some of the pregnancy remaining in the womb, continuation of the pregnancy, excessive bleeding, damage of the entrance to the womb (cervix), damage to the womb…” (Anonymous, 1). When receiving an intentional abortion, the doctor widens the cervix, and a tube is inserted. The tube suctions the egg from the uterine lining, and it is removed. With this, the cervix and uterine lining is open for infections and bleeding when the egg is removed. The tool that is used to open the cervix can also damage that opening. The suction tube can also damage the womb because it can attach itself to a different section and sometimes the suction doesn’t work, and the woman continues the pregnancy.

But in some cases, abortion can be beneficial for someone’s life. “Among women who gave birth, 27% reported fair or poor health compared with 20% of women who had a first-trimester abortion and 21% who had a second-trimester abortion… Women who gave birth reported more chronic headaches or migraines and joint pain over time than women who had an abortion.” (Rubin, 715). According to the data collected by Rubin, it shows that women who continue to carry the pregnancy, develop poor health in the future than women who have abortions early in their pregnancy. From the data, the women were asked how they left after 5 years of either giving birth or having an abortion and the results are extremely clear. The women who had abortions evolved to have better health compared to the women who decided to continue their gestation period.

A Women’s Self- Esteem

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Emily Letts, a 25-year-old woman, who is consular at the Cherry Hill Women’s Center, is famous for recording her very own abortion. The video is not graphic; it is more focused on her face and how calm she was during her surgery.  

She worked at the clinic for about a year when she found out that she was pregnant. She had also made it clear that she was not using any birth control because she tracked her ovulation cycles. She supported abortions and knew she wanted one after she found out she was pregnant. She wanted to do the surgical abortion, where the person is awake through the whole procedure. She wanted to show that abortion is not scary. She got the abortion done and uploaded the video onto Facebook.

CNN, Cable Network News, is a broadcasting television show. This show depicts different political topics, some controversial, throughout its airing. CNN did an interview with Miss. Letts about the reasons why she decided to upload her abortion. Dr. Drew, the interviewer, along with several other people, ask Miss. Letts if she “got pregnant in order to do this video?” (Drew) And Letts replied with a laugh. Letts begins to ask the interviewers if they have ever done anything they regret and that she had an IUD inserted into her arm, which is another form of birth control. One interviewer was telling her that Letts was making a joke out of having an abortion and another asking how having an abortion is like giving birth. With this, Letts responds by saying that in both instances, women she be supported and cared for while having an abortion or giving birth (Letts).  

In this video, you can see that Emily Lett’s self-esteem is intact, that there is nothing wrong with it. She is very proud of what she has put out into the public. That she is very proud that her experience is allowing people to start talking about abortion, in general, abortion can increase one’s self-esteem since it reduces their stress and the stress that comes with being pregnant, giving birth and/or giving the child up for adoption.  

Conclusion

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Abortion is something that many women, not only in America, go through in their lives.  Abortion is a method that is used to remove an embryo or a fetus, which then terminates the pregnancy.  Abortions come in different forms like intentional and unintentional.  Having an abortion can affect a women’s, mind, body, and self- esteem.  After having an abortion, it can cause women to become depressed and anti-social.  There is also a chance that having an abortion performed can cause injuries to the cervix and uterus, but in some cases after having an abortion can increase one’s health after.  Having an abortion done increases one’s self- esteem, according to Letts’ case because after having the procedure done, the person feels good and has no regrets about their decision

 

Work Cited

“Abortion | Medical Abortion.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Apr. 2019, https://medlineplus.gov/abortion.html.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Abortion.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/science/abortion-pregnancy.

CNN. “Women Films Herself during Abortion.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 May 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXjiQpkmX0g&t=3s.

History.com Editors. “Roe v. Wade.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Mar. 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/roe-v-wade.

Parenthood, Planned. “Should I Get An Abortion?: Information to Help You De2cide.” Planned Parenthood, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/considering-abortion.

Shibboleth Authentication Request, https://web-b-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=6d1cadd6-5689-4de1-a78c-aa50f791ba69@pdc-v-sessmgr06.

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f646-4355-8ee4-2dac2f7ba30a@sessionmgr4006.NHS Choices, NHS, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abortion/risks/.