{"id":94897,"date":"2016-05-26T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T13:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=94897"},"modified":"2016-09-01T16:17:32","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T20:17:32","slug":"abortion-prenatal-diagnosis-leads-emotional-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-prenatal-diagnosis-leads-emotional-trauma\/","title":{"rendered":"Studies: Abortion after a prenatal diagnosis leads to emotional trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We often hear that there are cases in which abortion should absolutely be an option – situations that are so emotionally difficult that even so-called pro-lifers seem to think that killing the preborn child is the best thing to do. We hear abortion advocates claim that aborting the child will save the parents unnecessary pain. But it isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n

Receiving a terminal diagnosis for your child is in itself a tragedy. Yet aborting the baby won\u2019t take that pain away: it can actually compound it. In fact, study after study shows that carrying the child to term allows parents to properly grieve, while aborting the child leads to serious emotional stress.<\/p>\n

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A study from Duke University<\/a> showed that women who terminated after a prenatal diagnosis of an \u201cincompatible with life\u201d condition reported \u201csignificantly more despair, avoidance, and depression than women who continued the pregnancy.\u201d The study also showed that there is a \u201cpsychological benefit\u201d for women who carry their babies to term. Parents who carry the baby<\/a> to term report feeling more emotionally prepared for the child\u2019s death, and they feel gratitude and peace about their child\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Another study<\/a> from 2009 found that nearly 17% of women who abort a wanted baby because of a prenatal diagnosis were then diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as post-traumatic stress, anxiety, or depression within 14 months of terminating. Despite what society would have us believe – that aborting a baby based on a diagnosis is less traumatic than carrying to term – the studies show aborting the child is actually much more damaging to the mother.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, most parents who are given a prenatal diagnosis of their child are immediately given the option to abort <\/a>with little <\/a>helpful or factual information<\/a>. As attorney Anna Franzonella reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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One study found most abortions because of fetal abnormality occurred within 72 hours of the woman receiving the test results.\u00a0 Three days hardly allows time to become informed about resources available to parents of children with these disabilities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhat is foggy is that most parents need – when they leave the office with a prenatal diagnosis – they need someone to present to them the option of carrying to term and to remove from their diagnosis any misinformation that could have been provided to them, medical in nature – risk to their health, less bereavement,\u201d explains Tracy Winsor, co-founder of Be Not Afraid, a non-profit assisting parents who carry to term after a prenatal diagnosis. \u201cThey also probably, if they\u2019ve been told that it risks their future fertility, they need to know what abortion at 21 weeks looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

This video, from former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, shows what abortion at 21 weeks looks like. (No graphic images are used, only medical animation.)<\/p>\n