The Sadness of Life After Abortion

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The Sadness of Life After Abortion    FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS

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Recently I read an article about the effects of abortion, which included "post abortion syndrome." Could you please explain what that is?

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Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS) falls under the category of "post-traumatic stress disorder." The American Psychiatric Association (APA) defines a post-traumatic stress disorder occurring when "the person has experienced an event that is outside the range of usual human experience that would be markedly distressing to almost anyone." Clearly, abortion, the direct killing of an innocent human life, fits this definition. Consequently, the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — Revised (1987) specifically included abortion as a psycho-social stressor.

The reasons why abortion causes such traumatic stress include the following: First, abortion and infanticide are "abominable crimes" (Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, no. 51). To kill an innocent unborn child is the epitome of evil. Such an evil action will have a severely detrimental impact upon the spiritual and psychological health of the woman who is responsible.

Second, the abortion procedure is brutal, invasive and barbaric. If anyone has a doubt about the brutality and barbarism of abortion, please watch, "A Matter of Choice," "The Silent Scream" or "The Eclipse of Reason." Moreover, the procedure violates the woman’s body that has been prepared physiologically to nurture a growing child and bring that child to birth. Given both the first and second reasons, abortion produces feelings of self-devaluation, guilt, shame and isolation.

Third, deep down inside, a person, whether male or female, knows abortion is wrong and that a baby is being killed. Yet, a person will try to rationalize the action or to suppress feelings about it. Eventually, the impact of abortion will erupt in the person’s life with devastating effects.

Fourth, abortion restricts communication. Generally a woman does not want to talk about her abortion; rather, the abortion remains a dark secret she must bear by herself. She also does not want to recall the events surrounding the abortion or the procedure itself; such recall is unpleasant and hurtful. This lack of communication augments accompanying feelings of depression, grief, avoidance and denial. For example, people will talk with great ease about appendectomies, knee surgery or even cosmetic surgery; no one freely talks about having an abortion.

Fifth, the act of abortion impacts negatively upon relationships with others. The woman will reject the man who may have pressured her to have the abortion or consented to it. She will withdraw from others fearing their judgment for such a terrible act. She is left in isolation. These last three causes — the rationalization and suppression of feelings, lack of communication, and isolation — converge to prevent healing.

These causes of PAS are clearly interrelated. Some specific symptoms of post-abortion syndrome include "bouts of crying, depression, guilt, inability to forgive oneself, intense grief/sadness, anger/rage, emotional numbness, sexual problems or promiscuity, eating disorders, lowered self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse, nightmares and sleep disturbances, suicidal urges, difficulty with relationships, anxiety and panic attacks, and flashbacks." A survey of women who had undergone an abortion procedure found that 31 percent experienced suicidal feelings; 50 percent experience emotional and psychological disturbances lasting months; 28 percent attempted suicide; 60 percent commented that the decision to have an abortion made their lives worse; and 94 percent regretted the decision to have an abortion. ("Abortion: How Much Do You Know?" and "Abortion: Your Risks," both published by The American Life League.) These symptoms may not arise immediately after the abortion, but months or even years afterward. Without question, such evidence attests to the devastating impact of abortion upon the mother.

PAS manifests itself especially when certain circumstances are present at the time of the abortion, including the following: a maternal orientation, prior children, prior abortions, religious affiliation and beliefs, a lack of relationship support, force or coercion, second trimester abortion, genetic vs. elective abortion, pro-abortion ambivalence, prior emotional problems, low self-esteem, lack of family support, adolescent vs. adult. (Cf. Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change, I, 1).

While PAS is treated through psychiatric and psychological counseling, spiritual healing is also needed. Only with God’s grace available through prayer, the sacrament of penance and the holy Eucharist will a woman, wounded from the grievous sin of abortion, find forgiveness and peace. Our Holy Father Pope John Paul II in his encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" noted: "The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourself over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone’s right to life" (no. 99).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Saunders, Rev. William. "The Sadness of Life After Abortion." Arlington Catholic Herald.

This article is reprinted with permission from Arlington Catholic Herald.

THE AUTHOR

Father William Saunders is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Sterling, Virginia. The above article is a "Straight Answers" column he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Father Saunders is also the author of Straight Answers, a book based on 100 of his columns and published by Cathedral Press in Baltimore.

Copyright © 2004 Arlington Catholic Herald
 

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[cpforlife.org]

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign."

Mother Teresa (Wall Street Journal, 2/25/94)

[cpforlife.org]

Good reference PING

What is "Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List"?…That is Correct for $500!

[Blood of Tyrants]

In the womb, no one can hear you scream.

[HankReardon]

A woman here in Ohio was just released from prison after serving 7 years for killing her new born baby. Just a case of bad timing on her part, I guess.

[CSM]

I have a question for everyone. Is there any reasonable time period that abortion would be morally acceptable? (i.e. first week or month or trimester of a pregnance.)

I was asked this by a "free choice for the mother" person. My answer was that any pregnancy is a blessing and should be considered the ultimate gift to the mother. I am not an extremely religous person, but I still think that God intends for any pregnancy to result in the birth of the child. So that is the view that I have taken, but I still think it is a good question and would like to see your opinions.

[Solson]

There is no period where abortion is morally acceptable. Personhood begins at conception. It is a new, unique, human life. About that, there is no doubt.

Instead of focusing on any religious issue with these folks, discuss what defines a 'person.' Frame your argument in that context and it is clear to see that 'personhood' begins at conception.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Good article.

[Solson]

BTW, I've known a few who have had abortions. To this day, every person remembers the day, the feeling and regrets their decision fully. Every year, the anniversary of what happened comes upon them and really depresses their day. It is something they never forget...especially if they have children now. They often wonder if their aborted child would have looked, behaved, etc. like their other children. It is excruciatingly painful for them.

I really feel for any woman having had an abortion. It is indeed traumatic.

[CSM]

The defining of a person is the entire issue as I see it. The choice for the mother group isn't intellectually honest enough to define any point when a person exists. I agree that upon conception a person exists. I can never get them to point to a specific time for the definition.

Now that I look back at my question, I realize that by even answering their question I am allowing them to reverse the issue and force me to change a decision that I already made. I just need to push it back to them and force them to make a decision!

Thanks for making me think.

[CSM]

I've known one person that had 2 abortions. Her second was not quite a year after the first. I didn't know her for long after so I am not aware of the long term affect. I believe that the guilt of such an action would be overwhelming and very difficult to ever get beyond. I feel sorry for them, but it is a consequence of a horrifying decision!

[cspackler]

I knew a girl years ago that had an abortion. Affair with a married man, pressure to "get rid of it"... I discovered that she had later named her and was writing letters to her every week. Hell, that made me cry. And no, it was not my child.

[massiveblob]

Good article, thanks for the ping.

[spiffy]

Was this the talk that she gave while looking at Bill and Hillary and Tipper and Al, who were sitting next to her? I vaguely remember this. I wish I had seen it.

[Solson]

Have you ever seen the article by Peter Kreeft, "Personhood Begins at Conception"?

[goodform]

Great article. God bless you for posting it.

[Aquinasfan]

Is there any reasonable time period that abortion would be morally acceptable?

No. A human being is what it is from the moment that it's individualized or individuated, at fertilization. What was once two separate things, an egg and sperm, is now a unified being.

Working backwards, it's easy to see that I am the same person at adulthood that I was as a teenager, a child, and an infant. While my body changed, what I am (a human being) persisted throughout my bodily change. (The technical word for "what I am" is "essence" or "substance" or "soul"). But I can trace my physical development back even further, from infant to fetus to embryo to fertilization. I cannot trace my unified physical development back beyond that. Therefore, "what I am" (ensoulment) came into existence at fertilization.

[Aquinasfan]

Is there any reasonable time period that abortion would be morally acceptable?

No. A human being is what it is from the moment that it's individualized or individuated, at fertilization. What was once two separate things, an egg and sperm, is now a unified being.

Working backwards, it's easy to see that I am the same person at adulthood that I was as a teenager, a child, and an infant. While my body changed, what I am (a human being) persisted throughout my bodily change. (The technical word for "what I am" is "essence" or "substance" or "soul"). But I can trace my physical development back even further, from infant to fetus to embryo to fertilization. I cannot trace my unified physical development back beyond that. Therefore, "what I am" (ensoulment) came into existence at fertilization.

[CSM]

Nope. I just googled it for lunch time reading. Thanks.

[cpforlife.org]

I just re-watched it a few months ago. I transfered a few min. to audio for my website. Check it out http://cpforlife.org/id60.htm You will have to scroll a bit.

Honestly, I cannot remember if this was part of that address or not. Mother spoke about this all the time.

Also here http://cpforlife.org/id67.htm the founder of the Memorial took pictures of Mother teaching one of his 11 children to pray. It still inspires me after more than a year!