There is no post-abortion syndrome

Seattle PI ^ | July 9, 2007 | Sarah Prager

[beaversmom]

Post-abortion syndrome doesn't exist. You won't find a scientific or medical description of it anywhere because it is not real ("Proponents of grief syndrome add fuel to the debate," July 2).

There is a large body of medical literature proving that the majority of women who have abortions suffer no negative medical or psychological consequences. On the contrary, most women are extremely grateful that the option of abortion is available to them. Choosing to end a pregnancy in abortion is not a decision that comes lightly to any woman, but it may very well be the best decision she can make for herself, and her current or future family.

In fact, abortion is far more likely to alleviate a woman's psychological angst than it is to cause it. Research by the American Psychological Association supports that claim, finding that 76 percent of women report feeling relief after abortion while only 17 percent report feelings of guilt.

Most people feel best about their decisions when they are presented all their options and are able to freely make a choice as to what is right for them. Pregnant women who make informed decisions about abortion are no different, and usually feel just fine about their choice.

Abortion is a difficult and divisive issue in our society, and it is attacked from all sides -- by the media, by politics, by the Supreme Court and by many people who are uninformed about the realities of unplanned pregnancy and abortion.

Abortion does not cause women to sink into despair or suffer long-term psychological problems. There are always going to be a few women who regret their decision, just as women (and men) regret other decisions that are made. And there are many who may feel sadness or grief about their decision, while still knowing it is the right decision for them to make at that time.

However, that does not translate into a syndrome that is given more credence than it even deserves by being given equal attention in this article. When there are two balanced sides of an argument, they deserve equal coverage. In this case, the weight is on the side of extensive research, which has shown repeatedly that the syndrome doesn't exist.

There are 1.3 million abortions performed every year in this country and one in four American women has at least one abortion while reproductively active. For the most part, those women continue to lead their lives without suffering from that decision. Sarah Prager is an obstetrician/gynecologist in Seattle.

[Aquinasfan]

Interests: • Contraception

Main | Affiliations | Publications

Professional

Organizations: • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

• National Abortion Federation

• Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America

• Medical Students for Choice

And she's an OB/GYN?! Ewwww!

With OB/GYNs, my policy has been, don't trust, and verify.

[trisham]

And she's an OB/GYN?!

************

There does seem to be a bit of a conflict there.

[maica]

This writer doth protest too much.

The memory of a lost child remains in the mind of every woman who has lost one, whether willingly or accidentally. For some, the memory remains prominent, and for many it doesn’t. Project Rachel does great work in helping women, and men, resolve the guilt that interferes with their mental peace.

http://www.hopeafterabortion.com/

[trisham]

Thank you for posting that. For all the women who are able to publicly declare their regret, there must be many more who cannot.

[sweet_diane]

"New ministries claim that abortion causes long-term grief and depression. But recent Evergreen State graduate Katherine Murphy says she has no regrets."

Neither did a woman close to me... until she miscarried a wanted pregnancy years later.

[sweet_diane]

"These young women often collapse with grief and shame once they've successfully had their first baby, as the full magnitude of their "choice" looks back at them from a bassinet. P>God will forgive her, if she asks Him to. The question is, will she forgive herself?"

That is exactly what happened to my friend. I'll check out the website.

[Running On Empty]

And then there’s the major exposition from an OB-GYN conference in Rome a few years ago; they revealed irrefutable data that the DNA of every child remains in the body of its mother. The ramifications of this discovery are significant. It helps to explain why a woman who miscarries often becomes depressed up to the due date of the lost pregnancy, and that they relive that date in their memory for many years. What it proposes in the event of an abortion is even more sobering.

“Shall a mother ever forget the child of her womb?”

[HEY4QDEMS]

Babies lives are lives worth saving, even ugly ones.

[maica]

And then there’s the major exposition from an OB-GYN conference in Rome a few years ago; they revealed irrefutable data that the DNA of every child remains in the body of its mother.

^^^^^

And that is information that our media guard from public view more intensely than defense or CIA secrets.

[nyconse]

I have known many women who do have post-abortion syndrome. It does exist;these feminists are such liars.

[trisham]

And then there’s the major exposition from an OB-GYN conference in Rome a few years ago; they revealed irrefutable data that the DNA of every child remains in the body of its mother..

“Shall a mother ever forget the child of her womb?”

**************

That's amazing. And wonderful.

[topher]

Sounds like she is an abortionist (Miscarriage Management).

Most Women's Health Clinics are abortion facilities, though I could be wrong.

Someone emailed me that she heard that this doctor is an abortionist.

[trisham]

I couldn’t find anything that would support that, but she certainly is interested in contraception and abortion in general:

Prager, Sarah, MD
Fellow in Family Planning

Email: pragers@obgyn.ucsf.edu

Biosketch:
Dr. Prager graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Italian Language and Literature, and became interested in women’s health issues while volunteering at Planned Parenthood in Seattle, Washington, after moving there post-graduation. She did her post-baccalaureate pre-med course work predominantly in Seattle, then completed Medical Schoolin Dallas, Texas at UT Southwestern. Her OB/GYN residency was at Fletcher Allen Health Care/UVM in Burlington, Vermont, and while a resident, she became very active in ACOG, and now serves on their GYN practice committee.
Areas of Interest:
Immediate Start Contraception after abortion
Continuous contraception
Infection risks with abortion
Ongoing Research Projects:
Title: Immediate start contraception after abortion
Key Funder(s): pending
Major Project Goal: Determine if immediate start OCPs/Patch after abortion will improve short and/or long term compliance with contraception
Principal Investigator: Jody Steinauer/Eleanor Drey
Project Director: Sarah Prager
Research Team: Jody Steinauer, Eleanor Drey, Sarah Prager, Abby Sokoloff

[trisham]

There’s also been a continuing association with Planned Parenthood, imho an evil organization.

[topher]

There was an MD who was involved in Breast Cancer who did not believe in the abortion-breast cancer link. She had to find out the hard way that there appeared to be a significant link, and she was eventually convinced.

I am referring to Angela Lanfranchi, MD. Time convinced this doctor of the problems of abortion and its ties/links to breast cancer.

In the case of this doctor (MD), she is fresh out of Med School, and has very little exposure to the real world of medicine. I believe she attained her OB/GYN in 2005 and joined the University of Washington in 2006.

So she has very little practical experience. Maybe she will have to learn the hard way about abortion or maybe she will become harden and build a wall, and never admit that abortion injures women...

She is someone to pray for... Other women will look up to her because she is doctor, and her misguiding them will hurt those women/girls...

[trisham]

She is someone to pray for... Other women will look up to her because she is doctor, and her misguiding them will hurt those women/girls...

************

Agreed. It's possible she was brainwashed in college. It's not unusual at all. If so, she has a better chance of escaping her pro-abortion beliefs than if she was raised with them.

[dasboot]

"Project Rachel does great work in helping women, and men, resolve the guilt that interferes with their mental peace."

Ah..but here's the rub: there is no peace...no going back...just dealing with it. WHich is exactly the one-in-four of us who've posted on the thread want to get the message out....but it's hard to admit.

I'm glad to know Project Rachel recognizes the travails existence of many of the men who heard the vacuum. It's like having a spear pass through you; but you don't die...and you can never pull it out. 28 years of impalement...and counting. And it pains more as I get older.

It ain't about me, though. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I deserve what I got. Not so, for someone else.

[maica]

You might be interested in this page.

http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/men/index.htm

It is good for you to try to get the message out, as it is essential for the Abortion Industry to maintain the lie that abortion is no big deal!

[HitmanLV]

Being alone at last call at 2:45 am can be a harsh mistress.

[HitmanLV]

Translation: "I could not have been wrong, then..right?"

Actually, the translation is that with 1.3 millions of abortions annually and 1/4 of all women having an abortion at least one time in their lives, it's more likely that abortion will remain legal.

I've said many times on FR that there aren't 1.3 million abortions a year because it's legal, rather it's legal because there are 1.3 million abortions a year.

A subtlety lost on many pro lifers. Though I'm pro life, I remain pessimistic that when push comes to shove, a majority of Americans wouldn't outlaw first trimester abortions.