Each year, around 13,000 Kiwi women undergo an abortion.
It’s a procedure that draws strong opinions. Pro-life groups believe every embryo is sacred, whereas pro-choice groups believe every woman has the right to decide the fate of her own body.
But in a new study, it was the emotional impact on the woman that was put under the microscope.
As reported by TIME, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) decided to investigate the emotional effect of abortions, conducting a study of almost 1,000 women seeking the procedure in the U.S.
What they discovered during the research, which is said to be the most comprehensive of its kind, is that those who were denied an abortion were much more emotionally stressed than those who received one after asking for it.
“There are policies and decisions being made with this assumption that abortion harms women’s mental health,” says M. Antonia Biggs, a social psychologist researcher at UCSF, who is an author of this study.
“We found that the women who were denied abortions had more anxiety, lower self-esteem, and less life satisfaction compared to women who [obtained them initially].”
And their findings back this claim.
Researchers interviewed these women 11 times during their study: once a week after seeking an abortion, and then again every six months for five years.
Their findings showed that those turned away from having an abortion reported the highest anxiety levels, compared to those who had the procedure.
“Women should trust their own decisions, be empowered to do what’s best for them,” says Biggs.
“If our goal is to protect women’s health, the evidence suggests that expanding access is the best approach.”
In America, abortion remains one of the most controversial and politically loaded topics – with many more conservative states pushing to ban the procedure altogether.
Here in New Zealand, despite the procedure being legal, it is still relatively difficult for a woman to access this service. With two doctors having to agree that a woman would be placing her physical or mental health in danger should she not be allowed to procedure.
If you would like to talk to someone about issues raised in this story, head to Abortion Services New Zealand.
