Palin Nomination Sparks Talk of Post-Abortion Syndrome

(Sept. 12, 2008) Anger directed at Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin may be due to repressed feelings of guilt and pain among those who have had abortions or those involved in the decision, says an expert in post-abortion counseling.

"When someone publicly opposes abortion,” said Kevin Burke, co-founder of Rachel's Vineyard, a post-abortion healing organization, “this rejection can strike at a deeply repressed wound in the woman who has had an abortion or the man who has encouraged a woman to abort." Palin, who is against abortion, accepted the nomination as vice-presidential candidate Sept. 3.

The comment brought back a debate that has raged for decades — whether abortions cause emotional disorders, as well as problems with intimate relationships, and even suicide.

Many groups, such as the Elliot Institute, say that post-abortion syndrome (PAS) is clearly a post traumatic stress syndrome, the type evident in a large number of Vietnam veterans, but, like the veterans' experience, often does not manifest itself until years later.

Various authorities, however, dispute that PAS exists. The American Psychological Association denies it. Many others who deny the existence point to the U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop's 1989 letter to President Ronald Reagan which stated that because of a lack of data, evidence showing the health effects of abortion on women was inconclusive.

Nevertheless, those who claim that the syndrome exists point to various studies, one of which is that of James Rogers, who carefully examined over 400 published studies denying PAS, and said that their fault lay in the almost universal use of "poor methodology and research design."

The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research organization which denies PAS, admits that “the body of sound research in this area is relatively sparse because establishing or conclusively disproving a causal relationship between abortion and subsequent behavior is an extremely difficult proposition.”

Proponents of the existence of PAS, however, point to the growing number of self-help groups, internet discussions, and other organizations that have sprung up to help women who have had abortions as evidence of its existence.

Women in Berwyn, North Riverside, Forest Park, Cicero, Maywood and other areas should call WomanCare to learn more about the after-effects of abortion before making an abortion decision. Also available at the center are free pregnancy testing and information about ultrasounds.

Sources:

Rachael's Vineyard, Retreats for women who have had abortions
AbortionFacts.com, Information on abortion
A List of Major Physical Sequelae Related to Abortion, Elliot Institute
AfterAbortion.com, Website of the Elliot Institute
“Science vs. Ideology,” American Psychological Association June 6, 2008
“Why Can't We Love Them Both,” J. Willke, quoted by Elliot Institute
“Abortion and Mental Health: Myths and Realities,” Guttmacher Policy Review, Summer 2006
“Revisiting the ‘Koop Report,” by David C. Reardon, Ph.D., Elliot Institute

Other Information

Post Abortion Questionnaire, AfterAbortion.com

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