The next time that you’re in an argument about abortion rights, tell whoever you’re talking to that there’s no need to get emotional. They can simply look at the facts.
The claim:Women who have had an abortion will regret it.
The Turnaway Study’s findings:Researchers found that 95% of women who had an abortion said they made the right decision, both immediately and five-years later. These results were similar for women who had a second abortion and those who had an abortion in the first trimester. “We find no evidence that abortion causes negative mental health or well-being outcomes,” the Turnaway Study reports. “However, we do find that being denied an abortion is associated with elevated levels of anxiety, stress, and lower self-esteem, soon after abortion denial.” These mental health concerns decreased over six months to a year, researchers found.
The claim:Everything will be fine for women who are denied abortions.
The Turnaway Study’s findings:Four times more women who were denied abortions had a household income less than the poverty line. They were three times more likely not to be employed. They were also more likely not to be able to afford basic household needs, including food. They were also more likely not to keep in touch with violent partners.
The claim: Women who have abortions are selfish—they don’t care about children.
The Turnaway Study’s findings: In fact, Greene Foster says, one of the main reasons women gave for seeking abortions was that “they want to take care of their existing children.” Plus, the study found that children of women who had abortions receive “more economic security and better maternal bonding” than the other group. Nearly 60% of women who seek an abortion already have children.
The claim:Women who have an abortion give up the chance to be parents.
The Turnaway Study’s findings: “Women who receive an abortion are more likely to have an intended pregnancy within the next five years compared to women who are denied,” the study found.
The claim:There is no risk to your health if you are forced to have a baby to term.
The Turnaway Study’s findings:Women who were denied abortions reported having more chronic pain and poorer overall health. Two women who were refused abortions died from pregnancy-related causes.
The claim: People who are turned away shouldn’t have waited so long to get an abortion.
The Turnaway Study’s findings: “The gestational bans seem to be passed with this idea that people are sitting around wasting time instead of getting an abortion, and that is not true,” says Greene Foster. People don’t realize, she says, “how much not having money slows you down from being able to get an abortion, find a clinic, pay for it, get to the clinic, stay overnight sometimes, buy childcare, get out of work.”
The claim: Women should know right away when they’re pregnant.
The Turnaway Study’s findings: Many women do not know they’re pregnant, Greene Foster pointed out, because they already have irregular periods, or because they don’t have pregnancy symptoms. The study found, she said, that “statistically, the things that slow people down [from realizing that they’re pregnant] are being young, so they’ve never been pregnant before, and having been on birth control—if you think that you’re protected from the risk of pregnancy then you’re slower to realize that in fact you are pregnant.”
Jenny Singer is a staff author Glamour. You can follow her Follow us on Twitter.
Source: Glamour
