Abstract Background It is widely reported that the most prominent emotion following abortions is relief. This claim primarily rests on two studies of abortion clinic patients which had methodological and self-censure bias. Other studies have indicated that negative emotions are more common than positive emotions. The objective of this study is to obtain self-assessed data on the intensity of emotional responses to abortion and pregnancy loss in a random national sample. Methods Using visual analog scales, a random sample of 1,925 women aged 41 to 45 completed a survey in which respondents rated the degree to which they experienced emotional...