The Pro-Life Side of Abortion - Research Paper Example

The paper "The Pro-Life Side of Abortion" is a worthy example of a research paper on social science. Abortion is referring to the intentional act of removing the embryo or fetus from the pregnant mothers’ womb using some surgical methods or the intake of some drugs. Since the United States Supreme Court legally permits abortion back in 1973 (U.S. Supreme Court), some of the possible psychological, and emotional consequences that could arise out of legalizing abortion has intensely caught my attention.

Back when President Obama was still in the Senate, he has always been voting against the pro-life matters. Because of the personal stand of Obama with regards to abortion and pro-life, the pro-life group in West Virginia is now facing a serious battle against the pro-abortion Democrats (West Virginians for Life). As of February 2009, there are a total of 35 abortion-related bills that are pending in the West Virginia Legislature (Medical News Today). Since there is a bigger chance for the Obama administration to support the pro-abortion group, the pro-life group should exert extra effort in educating the pregnant women about the negative consequences associated with going through an abortion.

In West Virginia alone, as much as 7.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births occur due to abortion cases (Abortion Facts). To empower the pro-life group in terms of preventing millions of American women from having to face the emotional and psychological disturbances associated with having an abortion, educating more women on the adverse effects of going through an abortion is essential. In the process of persuading more women to avoid going through an abortion, the U.S. and West Virginia state government could also minimize the possible mental and physical consequences of such legislation.

Upon learning the preventable consequences associated with legalizing abortion, there is no doubt that I would strongly vote for pro-life. In general, abortion should be avoided because of its negative impact on the overall well-being of the mother and the fetus. In reality, most of the women who have experienced going through abortion are not really emotionally and mentally prepared to give up their unborn baby. It is possible for some of these women to be forced to go through abortion because of their parents or their significant others.

For this reason, there is a higher possibility for some of these women to experience intense guilt for giving up the life of their unborn baby. In line with the negative psychological effects of abortion on women, as much as 25% of these women have been seeking the professional guidance of a psychiatrist. (Badgley, pp. 313 – 321) In worst cases, some of these women may need to be admitted in a psychiatric hospital in order to enable them to cope with the emotional and psychological stress they went through after the abortion.

The study of Ashton shows that individuals who have gone through the process of having an abortion revealed that they have experienced nervous-related disorders (44%); inability to sleep well (36%); regret going through abortion (31%); and were taking psychotropic medicine because of the intense psychological effects caused by abortion (11%). In fact, roughly 19% of the women who have gone through the process of having an abortion have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (Barnard) It is also possible for women who are at the stage of post-abortion to experience a disconnection of their mental functioning such as going through an intense emotion without having a clear memory of past events whereas other women may remember the past events but not the emotions attached to it.

(Herman, p. 34) As a result, women who are not capable of controlling PTSD may have the tendency to commit suicide (Reardon, Ney, and Scheuren; Morgan, Evans, and Peters) or inflict self-harm (Reardon and Cougle; Major, Cozzarelli, and Copper) Aside from the negative psychological impact of abortion, abortion could also cause some physical complications on mothers. Some women who decided to have an abortion have experienced going through either minor or major infections, excessive bleeding, chronic abdominal pain caused by ripping off the uterus, cervical injury and gastro-intestinal disturbances which may result to fever, series of convulsion and vomiting. (Reardon) In the worst cases, physical complications caused by abortion could increase the risks of fatality in women’s life.

(Frank, Kay, and Scott) Abortion does not only affect the physical, mental, and psychological health of pregnant women, it could also lead to the untimely death of the unborn child. (Frank, Kay, and Scott) In case the fetus survived from an induced abortion, there is a higher possibility for the child to have congenital abnormalities or a low birth weight which could negatively affect the child’s physical, mental, emotional, and psychological development. (Mandelson, Maden, and Daling).