Feelings of sadness, anxiety, grief, and guilt are normal emotions after an abortion. But why do we feel this way? Compromise asks us to give up something important to us in exchange for what we feel we can’t live without at the moment. In the face of immediate pain, we tend to set aside our convictions.
But what if that important thing is your very character? In your decision about your pregnancy, how do you know if you’re character is at stake?
Ask yourself, “Do I believe the thing growing inside of me is a life? Is it a baby?”
Despite what some politically motivated scientists might say, most women facing unplanned pregnancy know deep down that there is a child growing inside them. That’s why the decision you’re facing is so hard. Acting against your character can have long-term consequences on your mental and emotional health.
A 2011 study in the British Journal of Psychiatry reports that, “Women who had undergone an abortion experienced an 81% increase risk of mental health problems.”1
There are many more questions to consider. Have you taken the time to ask the ones that pertain to who you are as a person? Don’t let the drama around you drown out your inner voice. The right choice is the one that is true to who you are.
1 Coleman, PK (2011). “Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995-2009.” Br J Psych, 199: 180-6.
