A recent op-ed in the New York Times said “We can all recognize that abortion in many ways represents a sad, even tragic choice in many, many women.” Those are the words of Hillary Clinton. Which is why she must be as dumbfounded as Bill Donohue was to read the op-ed by Jill Filipovic that boasted how abortion brings about “positive feelings of relief or happiness.” You can just hear it said, “Break out the booze—my baby is dead.”
Filipovic is an unemployed writer who provided not a single shred of evidence to support her delirious conclusion. When Donohue has submitted op-ed ads to the New York Times, he has been routinely asked to provide proof for his contentions. Donohue is fine with that—he always has the data. Then why was this piece printed when the author simply asserted that “research shows” women are happy following an abortion?
In 2011, the British Journal of Psychiatry published “the largest quantitative estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion available in the world literature.” It measured anxiety, depression, alcohol use, marijuana use, and suicidal behavior. It found that “the overall experience of abortion led to a staggering 81% increased risk of mental health problems across all the variables.” Studies done in the U.S., Finland, Denmark, and Canada have come to similar conclusions.
In addition to these five mental health problems, post-abortion syndromes include such emotions as guilt, feelings of numbness, avoidance of children or pregnant women, inability to bond with present or future children, eating disorders, fear of infertility, and nightmares. There is no post-abortion syndrome called elation. And they all remember the anniversary of the aborted child’s due date, or the date of the abortion.
Project Rachel was founded as a Catholic ministry to reach out to women who have had an abortion. Filipovic ought to talk to these women. She would learn that “breaking out the booze” only occurs when post-abortive women opt to self-medicate.
