Clients considering abortion have many options to weigh to determine if abortion is truly what they want to do. Counselors who see clients considering abortion can be instrumental in providing a non-judgmental, unbiased support system by providing factual information about options (goodtherapy.org). Clients who seek the professional help of counselors can feel free to share their feelings and emotions without risk of being judged. They can also arrive at the decision that is best for them without feeling any sort of judgment or pressure from counselors.
There are many different factors that may lead a woman to consider an abortion. This could be health-related issues, educational background, culture, sexual assault, etc. If a woman’s health is at risk on becoming pregnant, then an abortion might be the right choice. If a woman is raped and becomes pregnant as a result, she may consider abortion.
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Aside from considering abortion for any of the aforementioned reasons there are also other considerations that must be taken into account. There are long and short-term effects of having an abortion that can pose a great risk to a woman’s health and overall well-being. There are the physical side effects of having an abortion that occur post-abortion. These include bleeding, infection, vomiting, gastrointestinal upset, fever and abdominal pain (abortionfacts.com).
There are also complications that can be major such as severe bleeding, embolism, hemorrhaging, and endotoxic shock among others. Long-term complications can include the woman becoming sterile and damage to reproductive organs. Women can also suffer from sexual dysfunction and psychological distress that in some cases leaves them yearning to become pregnant again to make up for the loss of pregnancy. Women may also repress their feelings and experience a whole host of psychological symptoms and disorders ranging from depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, relationship dysfunction, and self-destructive behaviors.
There may be certain factors that weigh in heavily on a woman’s consideration of abortion. These can include age, gender, religion, and socio-economic status. For example, if a woman is a Christian she may elect not to have an abortion because of her beliefs and convictions about the unborn and what abortion means in a greater context with regard to her faith. Other reasons can include a woman’s culture. Some cultures only allow a certain number of children to be born into a single family. If a woman becomes pregnant by accident and this is not consistent with cultural norms, she may be forced to have an abortion on that premise alone. A woman’s age can have an impact especially if she is considered to be beyond child-rearing age and there is a potential risk for birth defects to her unborn child due to her age. Detected birth defects of the fetus through diagnostic testing may prompt a woman to consider having an abortion. A woman’s socio-economic status can be a strong consideration for abortion especially if she feels she does not possess the means to take care of the child. Other considerations can include if a woman is in an abusive relationship that poses a risk to herself or her unborn child.
While abortion is considered a controversial issue that is met with proponents for and against it, by law a woman is given the right to choose what is best for her. Counselors must remain unbiased and open-minded to their clients who are considering abortion due to varying degrees of rationale that would prompt such considerations. Providing support, facts, and options for women who are considering abortion will aid them in making an informed choice after weighing everything in full.
- GoodTherapy.org. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2018, from https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/abortion
- The after effects of abortion. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2018, from https://www.abortionfacts.com/reardon/the-after-effects-of-abortion
