A new study suggests that getting an abortion doesn't negatively affect women's mental health. Instead, those who are denied the procedure end up having higher levels of anxiety and lower self-esteem than those who actually get an abortion. It was found that the study's conclusion opposes one of the primary arguments of many abortion protesters, saying that those women who undergo the procedure experience long-term psychological trauma.
How Can Abortion Not Be Harmful?
According to reports by CBS News, Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health issues has revealed that nine states already have their laws requiring women receive counseling on the perceived psychological harms of abortion when seeking the procedure. However, in the most the latest study, which is allegedly considered as the most rigorous on the topic to date, finds that women who have abortions are not more likely to experience mental health difficulties than those who do not.
Furthermore, in one of her statements reported by Yahoo News, study lead author Antonia Biggs claimed that the findings add to a growing body of research that indicates abortion does not lead to negative mental health outcomes for women. She adds that as a matter of fact, the data shows that women should be trusted to make their own decisions regarding their reproductive lives.
Meanwhile, the study findings which is known to be a part of a larger body of reproductive research known as the Turnaway Study, is noted by the experts as based on the experiences of nearly 1,000 women who sought abortions between 2008 and 2010 from 30 abortion facilities in 21 states. It was found that the current research is basically intended to examine the effects of unintended pregnancy in women's lives. Moreover, authors of the study has highly emphasized that the effect of being denied an abortion may be more detrimental to women's psychological well-being than allowing women to obtain their wanted procedures.
