The Blog of the Coalition for Secular Government

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Abortion and Mental Illness By Diana Hsieh @ 12:01 AM Critics of abortion often claim that a woman who terminates a pregnancy will suffer mental anguish and guilt as a result. The theory seems to be that even if a woman explicitly believes that her abortion is morally right, her own moral conscience, tuned as it is to God's law, knows that she's wrong. Even if that were true, it would not be a reason to ban abortion. Adultery causes mental anguish and guilt, but in a free society, the government respects the fact that people can and ought to be allowed to make their own decisions, and suffer consequences accordingly. Similarly, because embryos and fetus are not persons with a right to life, the government ought to protect a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy, even for the wrong reasons. (For more argument on that score, read CSG's issue paper, written by Ari Armstrong and myself: Amendment 48 Is Anti-Life: Why It Matters That a Fertilized Egg Is Not a Person.) Moreover, the claim that abortion damages the psyche is obviously a flight of Christian fancy, based on faith and dogma rather than any dispassionate analysis of the facts. So -- suprise, suprise -- a recent study shows no empirical basis for it: Women who choose to abort an unwanted pregnancy may experience feelings of grief and loss, but there is no evidence that a single abortion causes significant mental health problems, a panel of the American Psychological Association reported after two years of study. The findings are almost identical to a similar review by the association in 1990. "The best scientific evidence published indicates that among adult women who have an unplanned pregnancy, the relative risk of mental health problems is no greater if they have a single elective, first-trimester abortion or deliver that pregnancy," Brenda Major, chairwoman of the panel, said in a statement. But the report also found that many of the more than 150 studies it reviewed had major flaws, and it called for better-designed studies "to help disentangle confounding factors" like income and medical history. Of course, a woman might regret an abortion, whether rightly or wrongly. However, God does not seem to be infusing these supposed murderers with horrible suffering and guilt. Labels: Abortion E-mail Diana Hsieh    PermaLink ()    Comments

Comments on "Abortion and Mental Illness"

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 6:18:46 mst Comment ID: #1 Name: Renee Katz E-mail: reneekatz(at)gmail.com URL: http://adventuresinexistence.blogspot.com I tend to think that a woman who keeps a child she doesn't want because God-lovers told her to would suffer more than a woman who terminates a pregnancy.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 14:07:07 mst Comment ID: #2 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com FYI - Adultery was a crime just over 50 years ago, and like abortion, it should also be re-criminalized. If embryos and fetus' are not persons, what are they? When a woman becomes pregnant, what species is she carrying inside her womb? Plant? Canine? Or Human? Is that species alive or dead? The fact remains that if it's not really a baby, then the woman is not really pregnant. The fundamental right to life is a universal right given to us by our Creator. A woman does NOT have the authority or the right to murder another person regardless of how the government defines it. We are all accountable to GOD for our actions, and if a woman is so evil and selfish to take an innocent life within her womb, she will undoubtedly be punished no matter how hard her heart has become! One way or another, we all reap what we sow! ==> http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 20:09:15 mst Comment ID: #3 Name: Randi E-mail: branwynne77(at)hotmail.com URL: http://branwynne77.wordpress.com Mistakes happen, Dani. So you want a woman to be punished for sex outside marriage? People have been having sex outside of marriage for centuries....re-criminalizing it won't make a difference. It seems to me that life should begin when the heartbeat starts. Life ends when it stops. PS. Stay out of my bedroom!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 21:19:52 mst Comment ID: #4 Name: Renee Katz E-mail: reneekatz(at)gmail.com URL: http://adventuresinexistence.blogspot.com Well there's a theocrat for you - adultery should be illegal, sodomy should be illegal, abortion should be illegal - let's just legislate Christianity. To hell with the Constitution! It doesn't matter whether you consider a fetus a canine or a human or whatever: the fact is it's in the woman's body and she can do whatever she damn well pleases with it. Since the fetus' life is dependent on the woman's biological processes, what you are doing is violating her right to life by forcing her to do x, y, and z in order to keep the fetus alive. The woman would obviously not be allowed to drink or smoke while pregnant, and she be forced to go to the hospital to make sure the pregnancy is going smoothly, you know, because it's all about the fetus, not her. Basically she is just the incubator and society has the right to run her life. So yeah, *that* is evil, even if your imaginary friends say something different.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 22:08:21 mst Comment ID: #5 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com Randi said - "It seems to me that life should begin when the heartbeat starts. Life ends when it stops." Well, the heartbeat begins 18-24 days after conception - what authority do you have to end that life at any stage? Sex outside of marraige has a price tag - if people do not know the consequenses, then perhaps they should stop screwing around? BTW - I got knocked up at age 15 and I took responsibility for my actions - not the self-centered "choice" of you feminists who love to kill your own kids! P.S. I'm not in your bedroom - quit bringing your personal life out to the public! ----------------- Renee said - "Since the fetus' life is dependent on the woman's biological processes, what you are doing is violating her right to life by forcing her to do x, y, and z in order to keep the fetus alive." A newborn baby until the age of 12 is also dependant on it's mother to feed it, clothe it and shelter it until it is able to survive independently - shall we then murder the child as soon as it becomes a burden on the mother's life since she is now forced to care for the child and keep the child alive? We sure wouldn't want to violate a woman's right to go out and party all night or pursue a career once the child is born, why not just terminate the life at any age?

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 22:23:55 mst Comment ID: #6 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com One more thing - if you really believe that an unborn baby is just a part of the woman's body who can be easily disposed of for convenience sake, I challenge you to watch this => http://www.abortionno.org/

Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 13:04:10 mst Comment ID: #7 Name: Renee Katz E-mail: reneekatz(at)gmail.com URL: http://adventuresinexistence.blogspot.com Because she can give the child up for adoption. The argument is not about "convenience," so you can stop mentioning it now. And stop using words like "self-centered" and "selfish" as if they were the devil. The self is not evil.

Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 16:28:57 mst Comment ID: #8 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com Renee - The "self" is evil, especially when you "choose" to murder your own child for your own personal gain, to pursue a career or education, because your child would interfere with your personal life somehow, for financial reasons or even some arbitrary "health" reasons. The fact remains is that 99% of ALL abortions are for convenience sake - and you know it! If a woman does face an unwanted pregnancy, the most unselfish thing she could do is give her child up for adoption, but I NEVER ever hear of that option from the radical pro-choice feminist camp because people like you view pregnant women as merely an "incubator" who is "forced" to use her body to keep a worthless, unwanted fetus alive.

Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 17:41:45 mst Comment ID: #9 Name: Renee Katz E-mail: reneekatz(at)gmail.com URL: http://adventuresinexistence.blogspot.com "you view pregnant women as merely an "incubator" who is "forced" to use her body to keep a worthless, unwanted fetus alive." Okay, my bad. You win the argument.

Friday, September 26, 2008 at 20:38:48 mst Comment ID: #10 Name: Nicole E-mail: Moonbeam390(at)yahoo.com Diana, when you are twenty or more years older, I'd like to hear your views on the good friends, who when they are drunk or just down reveal that they often think of that child they aborted, yes, with regret. That is if you are willing to listen, openly and without judgement.

Friday, September 26, 2008 at 21:39:21 mst Comment ID: #11 Name: Richard Watts E-mail: rw1963(at)earthlink.net Dani, You say, "Adultery was a crime just over 50 years ago, and like abortion, it should also be re-criminalized." Do you think adultery should be punishable by death?

Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 1:42:17 mst Comment ID: #12 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com Richard - Yes, I think adultery should be punishable by death - and so does God BTW!

Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 19:18:30 mst Comment ID: #13 Name: blasphemer Dani -- God doesn't exist. There, I've just blasphemed. In your ideal society, would I now be put to death? (And if yes, would it be death by stoning, or by crucifixion?)

Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 20:17:41 mst Comment ID: #14 Name: Randi E-mail: branwynne77(at)hotmail.com URL: http://branwynne77.wordpress.com I think Trent Reznor said it best, "God is dead and I don't care." Thanks to people like Dani, I now believe there is no god. I guess the saying is true, "Christians are the leading cause of atheism." The best way to respond to Dani is not to respond at all.

Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 11:24:49 mst Comment ID: #15 Name: Jennifer K E-mail: kaufmanjb(at)yahoo.com URL: http://popcorninmybra.blogspot.com Dani, what do you do to make this world a better place to come into? Do you give any money to charity that help children and families? Do you volunteer to help struggling young mothers? Do you counsel women who have been victims of rape and make hesitate to bring a child of a horrifically violent act to term? Do you care about the growing gap between the haves and have-nots? What about the environment? What about social issues? Or do you think just showing up at a pro-life rally is enough?

Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 12:35:57 mst Comment ID: #16 Name: z E-mail: shekfu(at)hotmail.com Rights are not the same as life. Grass is alive. You walk on it. Ants are alive, you squish them. Fish are alive, you fillet them. Well then you'll say that these are examples of life which are not human. Ok well, a sperm is human, why are sperm allowed to die by the millions? An egg is alive, why is the body allowed to flush them out, one by one, every month? Living, human cells are disposed of by nature! There ought to be a law!

Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 21:03:59 mst Comment ID: #17 Name: Richard Watts E-mail: rw1963(at)earthlink.net Dani, Do you think blasphemy should be punishable by death?

Monday, September 29, 2008 at 21:28:16 mst Comment ID: #18 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com Jennifer - Yes I give money to charity that help children and families. Yes I volunteer to help struggling young mothers. No I don't counsel women who have been victims of rape, but I would if I encountered any. Not I don't care about the growing gap between the haves and have-nots. What about the environment? I try to cut down as many tree as possible so I can burn the wood to keep my family warm in the winter. What about social issues? I actively will fight against homos and their perversion, along with standing outside of Planned Parenthood encouraging mothers not to kill their children. Thanks to the efforts of our side-walk counselors, there are an average of 100 babies saved each year. ------------------------------ Richard - Blasphemy should not be a capital crime punishable by death. However, the sin of blasphemy will cause a person to suffer eternal damnation once they do die.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 6:42:49 mst Comment ID: #19 Name: Richard Watts E-mail: rw1963(at)earthlink.net Dani, Do you think blasphemy should be illegal?

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 20:18:00 mst Comment ID: #20 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com No Richard - blasphemy should not be illegal. This questions of yours seem somewhat frivolous - do you have a point you are trying to make?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 20:41:05 mst Comment ID: #21 Name: Richard Watts E-mail: rw1963(at)earthlink.net Dani, If I make any points, I would prefer to first be as informed as possible. I'd like to know which of the Bible's commandments you think should be enforced by law, and which you think should not. That is, if you don't mind going on record here with your beliefs regarding this matter. What would the laws look like in a Christian nation? How would the laws be different than they are today? Do you think sodomy should be illegal? Witchcraft? Fornication between unmarried consenting adults? If so, do you think these should be punishable by death?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 18:56:59 mst Comment ID: #22 Name: Dani E-mail: daniellestyle(at)hotmail.com URL: http://www.generationxpose.com Richard - I responded to your questions here => http://worstgenerationseed.blogspot.com/2008/11/americas-criminal-c ...

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