Pro-Life, Pro-Choice: Shared Values in the Abortion Debate

6. Respecting Fetal Life and Pregnant Women: Building upon Shared Values

137 In previous chapters I briefly touched on the need for the pro-­choice community to embrace women who face emotional difficulties after an abortion. I have also mentioned that both pro- and anti-­ choice advocates should set their sights on helping to institute social policies meant to reduce the prevalence of abortion. It is time to explore both of these issues further, with a focus on how they can fit into a more comprehensive pro-­ choice position. Is There a Post-­ Abortion Syndrome? There is a clear distinction between grieving or sadness and being clinically depressed. Some anti-­ choice advocates collapse this distinction and argue that women who feel sadness after an abortion are really suffering from a clinical condition known as “Post-­ Abortion Syndrome” (PAS). Those who argue that PAS exists maintain that almost all abortions result in clinical psychological problems for women that are akin to post-­ traumatic stress disorder. No medical or psychological organization recognizes PAS as a clinical disease. In 1987, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, himself an ardent anti-­ choice advocate , was asked by President Ronald Reagan to conduct a study of the psychological after-­ effects of abortion. Koop found that nothing in his research supported the position that abortion is intrinsically harmful to women’s mental 6 Respecting Fetal Life and Pregnant Women ­ Building upon Shared Values Pro-­ Life, Pro-­ Choice 138 health. In a letter to President Reagan, Koop wrote, “The available scientific evidence about the psychological sequelae of abortion simply cannot support either the preconceived beliefs of those prolife or those prochoice. . . . I regret, Mr. President, that in spite of a diligent review on the part of many in the Public Health Service and in the private sector, the scientific studies do not provide conclusive data about the health effects of abortion on women.”1 Throughout his career, Koop continued to deny the existence of PAS, even though he remained anti-­ choice. In 1988, he wrote: “The people who would like to see a report that the health effects of abortion are so devastating that abortion should be stopped, use as one of their weapons the fact that there is such a thing as a postabortion syndrome. . . . As we have talked to various groups, there is no doubt that there are people who experience a postabortion syndrome, but there are people who have a post-­ death-­ of-­ my-­ child syndrome, post-­ death-­of-­my-­mother syndrome, post-­lost-­my-­job syndrome.”2 In 2008, the American Psychological Association reviewed a variety of articles in psychology and mental health journals to come to a more definitive conclusion concerning the existence of PAS. They found that “the best scientific evidence indicates that the relative risk of mental health problems among adult women who have an unplanned pregnancy is no greater if they have an elective first trimester abortion than if they deliver that pregnancy.”3 Nevertheless, some women do have a hard time coping after an abortion, and certain risk factors help predict the likelihood of such difficulty. These include events that occur post-­ abortion, perceived lack of support for the abortion decision, ambivalence concerning the decision to abort, compromised coping capacities in general, previous bouts with depression or psychiatric disorders, the quality of the woman’s relationship with her male partner, and feeling coerced into the abortion.4 Consequently, it is “likely that psychological maladjustment occurring subsequent to an abortion frequently is misattributed to the abortion experience, whereas it may be more indicative of adjustment problems present prior to pregnancy.”5 One noteworthy implication of these predictors is that notification mandates may work against women’s mental well-­ being. If a woman perceives her parents or part- 139 Respecting Fetal Life and Pregnant Women ner as being supportive of her decision to abort, she will likely voluntarily inform them. Women who refuse to do so typically feel unsupported or believe that their parents or partner will try to dissuade them. Laws that require women to inform their parents or partner before an abortion may “undermine women’s ability to cope if those others are not perceived as completely supportive of their decision.”6 Despite all the evidence, some anti-­ choice advocates still maintain that PAS is a legitimate mental affliction. Such is the position of David Reardon, the director of the Elliot Institute, whose mission is to research the purported detrimental after-­ effects of abortion. Reardon describes himself as being...