THE EFFECTS ABORTION HAS ON A WOMEN'S HEALTH
By: Jane Doe

Abortion can affect a woman’s health in many ways, such as: Suicide attempts, depression, eating disorders, alcohol/drug abuse, sexual dysfunction, child abuse, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Studies show that 75 percent of women who have an abortion are more likely to die within a year than women who chose to carry throughout the term (El). Though, that may not seem like much but it does consist of many women who are unhappy with the decision that they chose to make. Sometimes it is not even the decision that the women wants to make, they do it because their boyfriend or husband do not want the child and they fear that if they would keep the child than it would only cause problems in their relationships. This then causes women to have more suicidal attempts because of their decision that they chose to make. The decision may not cause the mental affect until after a couple months down the road after the abortion has happened. “The first and most pivotal is the abortion itself, which in many cases is more traumatic than usual human experience. The second criterion is re-experience, which causes women to remember the specifics of the experience; this may even include hallucinations, and often are spurred on the anniversary of the event. The third criterion is Avoidance, which is spurred on by guilt. This means that the woman avoids all things that would remind her of the event. Women often become detached from others, and withdraw from relationships, and perhaps takes on a hard cold attitude toward others to avoid feeling love for them. At this stage the woman often just wishes for the end of her life, and does not have many ambitions, or long term dreams. The fourth criterion is associated features, which are persistent symptoms that were not present before the