{"id":272267,"date":"2022-07-12T16:45:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T21:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=272267"},"modified":"2022-07-12T18:13:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T23:13:26","slug":"abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion regret is real, despite media’s attempts to dismiss those who experience it"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The <\/span>Washington Post<\/span> would have you believe that abortion regret is something few women actually experience. \u201cMaybe they could all fit in a ballroom,\u201d suggests one of their recent <\/span>articles<\/span><\/a>, entitled, \u201cWhy we\u2019re still arguing about abortion and regret.\u201d The <\/span>Post<\/span> would have readers believe that abortion never has mental health consequences, and that the idea that it can impact women psychologically is just a conspiracy theory concocted and promulgated by pregnancy resource centers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact is, there are thousands of women in online support groups \u2014 like the aptly named site,\u00a0<\/span>I regret my abortion<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and thousands more signing up for programs like <\/span>Rachel\u2019s Vineyard<\/span><\/a>, which aims to help women process grief and trauma following pregnancy loss of all kinds, including and especially abortion. The website <\/span>Silent No More Awareness<\/span><\/a> has over 3,000 personal testimonies of abortion regret \u2013 and it\u2019s just one of <\/span>many<\/span><\/a> sites<\/span><\/a> that have <\/span>compiled<\/span><\/a> similar<\/span><\/a> narratives<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Washington Post<\/span> implies that these thousands upon thousands of women don\u2019t exist \u2013 or maybe just that they don\u2019t matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Legitimate Research Actually Shows<\/b><\/p>\n

To back up their claim that women don\u2019t regret their abortions, the <\/span>Post<\/span> cites the <\/span>Turnaway Study<\/span><\/a>, a fatally <\/span>flawed<\/span><\/a> battery of research which has been <\/span>repeatedly<\/span><\/a> debunked<\/span><\/a> by <\/span>Live Action News<\/span> and other <\/span>publications<\/span><\/a>. Without this bit of swiss-cheese \u201cscience,\u201d the <\/span>Post<\/span>\u2019s case doesn\u2019t have a leg to stand on.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mainstream media love to cite the Turnaway Study because it supports the pro-abortion narrative. They never mention the myriad of problems plaguing the Turnaway Study, such as small sample size, low participation and high dropout rates among subjects, potential selection bias, and <\/span>distorted reporting<\/span><\/a> of findings, among other serious flaws, including biased authorship. The <\/span>Post<\/span> quotes<\/span><\/a> one of the Turnaway team as saying they \u201cwere really open to all possibilities in these data,\u201d but never bothers to mention that the entire team, including the people who provided the funding, are abortion activists with a vested interest in defending abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Abortion regret exists among pro-abortion moms: \u2018Too many of us are bottling up the tears\u2019<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The media also never mention the huge body of research which refutes this \u201cabortion is perfectly safe\u201d narrative. <\/span>Multiple<\/span><\/a> studies<\/span><\/a> support<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>conclusion<\/span><\/a> that abortion significantly increases mental health <\/span>risks<\/span><\/a>. Potential consequences include <\/span>depression<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>anxiety<\/span><\/a> (including anxiety felt during <\/span>subsequent pregnancies<\/span><\/a>), and <\/span>substance abuse<\/span><\/a>. Abortion-related trauma can also <\/span>interfere<\/span><\/a> with interpersonal relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

There Is No Pregnancy Center Conspiracy<\/b><\/p>\n

Noting the fact that many pregnancy resource centers have developed programs to help women (and men) cope with post-abortion trauma, the <\/span>Post<\/span> implies that the concept of abortion regret is something invented by these same centers. But the <\/span>Post<\/span> conveniently omits another set of important facts \u2013 these programs are generally offered free of charge, and nobody is forcing people to sign up for them. Furthermore, the programs have been developed to respond to an observed need \u2013 if wounded post-abortive people weren\u2019t coming forward seeking help, these programs would never have been developed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pregnancy centers and other non-profits literally have nothing to gain by offering this assistance except the satisfaction of helping others in need.<\/span><\/p>\n

Denying the Existence of Abortion Regret Is Anti-Woman<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201c[C]laiming that regret is a common experience feeds into stereotypical perceptions that women can\u2019t be trusted to make decisions,\u201d states the <\/span>Post<\/span>, pointedly ignoring the fact that homicide (that’s what abortion is \u2014 the homicide of an undelivered, innocent human being) is not a legitimate \u201cdecision.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the <\/span>Post<\/span> is bafflingly blind to its own anti-woman bias in denying the existence of abortion regret. This denial discounts the lived experiences of thousands of women from all walks of life \u2013 or, more insidiously, it implies that these women don\u2019t know their own hearts and minds, which is blatantly misogynistic. It paints regretful women as either fools, or worse, liars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why are we \u201cstill arguing about abortion and regret?\u201d It\u2019s not for the reasons the <\/span>Washington Post<\/span> would have you believe. It\u2019s because abortion advocates refuse to acknowledge what the science \u2013 and thousands of post-abortive women \u2013 actually say. Until and unless they accept reality, this is an argument that isn\u2019t going to die any time soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Washington Post would have you believe that abortion regret is something few women actually experience. \u201cMaybe they could all fit in a ballroom,\u201d suggests one of their recent articles, entitled, \u201cWhy we\u2019re still arguing about abortion and regret.\u201d The Post would have readers believe that abortion never has mental health consequences, and that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":788,"featured_media":191994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[15,6],"tags":[2219,10571,1810,2235,230],"yoast_head":"\nAbortion regret is real, despite media's attempts to dismiss those who experience it<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Washington Post implies that thousands with abortion regret don\u2019t exist or don\u2019t matter. 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They also claim pregnancy centers have invented such regret.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-12T21:45:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-12T23:13:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/abortion-regret-prolife-pro-life.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bettina di Fiore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bettina di Fiore\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bettina di Fiore\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/189f8a60121ec1992ae74917a7134f0f\"},\"headline\":\"Abortion regret is real, despite media’s attempts to dismiss those who experience it\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-12T21:45:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-12T23:13:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss\/\"},\"wordCount\":724,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"abortion regret\",\"abortion trauma\",\"pregnancy centers\",\"pregnancy resource centers\",\"Washington Post\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analysis\",\"Media\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-regret-real-attempts-dismiss\/\",\"name\":\"Abortion regret is real, despite media's attempts to dismiss those who experience it\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-12T21:45:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-12T23:13:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Washington Post implies that thousands with abortion regret don\u2019t exist or don\u2019t matter. 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