Pas

I think it's just a myth. The only people who will suffer this alleged condition are the ones who stupidly believe that a fetus is a human being. I know some women may experience something like post-partum depression after an abortion, but it usually goes away. Women who whine over an abortion for years and years probably have underlying psychological issues that contribute to the feelings - pregnancy hormones do not take that long to leave the woman's body.

I think pas is simply a myth used as one of many b/s pro-liar methods of keeping women from aborting...Just like the claim that women who abort will get breast cancer.

8/10 pregnancy symptoms?

It is possible that pas is a mental condition, not a physical one, that women cause inintentionally to themsleves by consciously or unconsciously wishing to still be pregnant. It's not a bad thing, just something that needs to be dealt with by professional or personal therapy, which it sounds like you got.

I think pas can be real, if you are effected negatively by your abortion regardless of the reasoning why. If you feel guilty, if you are made to feel guilty (by persons or society), if you regret, if you are still hormonal, if you start reading pro-life rants and are effected by that, if you wish you had other options, if you start thinking more about what could've been, if you forget the reasons why you had an abortion and start seeing ponies and clouds--all these things can change your mindset and I believe effect your mental state.

I think the best thing for someone is to get counseling and not ignore it. There must be an issue there somewhere, even if it's not the abortion itself.

Someone saying "it's just a myth" can have negative effects, too, if you are sincerely feeling these things, for whatever reason, and you feel invalidated.

Was pas coined by pro-life?

I know that this has been discussed before but I will add my two cents worth. Their are times when women goes and has their baby and has a post pregnancy syndrome or whatever it is called and it is possible that some females do regret having their abortions but I also feel that their can be a problem from the past that is coming out that they might be blaming it on pas after all anything is possible as their is so much depression in our society. You just have to try to remember that you did it for a reason aand that it is time to let go and move on and if you need help with it get it and never allow anyone to push you into having an abortion done!

I should've clarified that. No, not pregnancy symptoms, classic "pas" symptoms. The ones you'll find all over every website to determine if you have it. I really believed at 18 that I had that, but now I think it was guilt and the longing to fill that void that I had. I kind of understand both perspectives here, but I also would never make a woman feel like her symptoms weren't real, I think i'm more pro-woman than pro-choice and wouldn't consider myself pro-life in any way shape or form because of my history (i'd be the biggest hypocrite) and beliefs. I just wanted to hear from you guys and find out what you thought about this. Thanks so much for the input.

I believe that post-abortion stress syndrome, or whatever you'd like to call it, is very real. I also think women can suffer from it regardless of whether they have any pre-existing "psychological issues," even though this is what many pro-choice organizations say.

However, I think that it is caused in a large way by the pro-life effort. Not just because women who have abortions are bombarded with propaganda calling them murderers (although I'm sure that doesn't help), but because with all the effort people are making to try and make abortion illegal, clinics and pro-choice organizations have no choice but to try and "sugarcoat" abortion and cover up all the possible negative effects.

I think once the right to choose is no longer threatened, women will start being presented with the FACTS, not just propaganda from either side. Hearing that abortion is perfectly safe and empowering from one side, and being shown (fake) pictures of aborted fetuses and being called baby killers from the other, is NOT being given the right to an informed choice, which is what every woman should have!

Hi, welcome to the pro-choice boards. I'm having a hard time telling if you are pro-choice or pro-life, and that's important because only pro-choicers can post on this forum. If you're neutral that's fine, but don't post any anti-choice rhetoric on here

After my abortion, I spent a couple of weeks on a forum specifically for woman suffering from pas. I should mention that I didn't have pas myself. I went to the board because I had some questions about physical recovery. It was way before I found this board. Most of these woman could not even write the word baby. We were all required to use stars*** instead. Most even named their aborted children. It was quite sad, actually, and I really felt bad for them.

I found that most, if not all, of these woman knew beforehand that they didn't want to abort. Most spent the weeks or days before their abortion, doubting their decision but went through with it anyway. Some of these woman had aborted 10 years ago, and still have problems dealing.

I'm not sure if pas is actually a mental condition or just sadness and regret. Could it possibly be compared to post traumatic stress syndrome?

Actually yes. Most doctors and psychologists agree that PAS is actually part of post traumatic stress syndrome. It is not a specific syndrome associated with abortion, but "PAS" was invented by pro-lifers to single abortion out as a "traumatic" experience.

Here is a very interesting article to read:

http://www.haworthpress.com/store/E-Text/V iew_EText.asp?a=3&fn=J015V09N04_05& ;i=4&s=J015&v=9

"Emotional response to abortion; a critical review of the literature".