Alejandra Correa, The Pastoral Call for Post-Abortion Healing and Reconciliation in the U.S.

Appendix: Risk Factors For Post-Abortion Syndrome1

Conflicted Decision

Difficulty making the decision, ambivalence, unresolved doubts.
1. Moral beliefs against abortion
  1. religious values
  2. negative attitudes toward abortion
  3. feelings of shame or social stigma attached to abortion
  4. strong concerns about secrecy
2. Conflicting maternal desires
  1. Originally wanted or planned pregnancy
  2. abortion of wanted child due to fetal abnormalities
  3. therapeutic abortion of wanted pregnancy due to maternal health risk
  4. strong maternal orientation
  5. being married
  6. prior children
  7. failure to take contraceptive precautions, which may indicate an ambivalent desire to become pregnant
  8. preoccupation with fantasies of fetus, including, sex and awareness of due date
3. Second or third trimester abortion (this generally indicates strong ambivalence or a coerced abortion of a 'hidden' pregnancy).
Feels pressured or coerced
1. Feels pressured to have abortion
  1. By husband or boyfriend
  2. By parents
  3. By doctor, counselor, employer or others
2. Feels decision is not her own, or is 'her only choice'
3. Feels pressured to choose too quickly
Decision is made with biased, inaccurate, or inadequate information

Psychological or Developmental Limitations

Adolescence (minors are both more likely to have psychological sequelae and to report symptoms of greater severity.)
Prior emotional or psychiatric problems
1. Poor use of psychological coping mechanisms
2. Prior low-self image
3. Poor work pattern
4. Prior unresolved trauma
5. A history of sexual abuse or sexual assault
6. Blames of pregnancy on her own character flaws, rather than on chance, others, or on correctable mistakes in behavior
7. Avoidance and denial prior to abortion
Lack of social support
1. Few friends
2. Made decisions alone, without assistance from partner
3. A poor or unstable relationship with male partner
4. Lack of support from parents and family, either to have baby or to have abortion
5. Lack of support from male partner, either to have baby or to have abortion
6. Accompanied to abortion by male partner
Prior abortions

Alejandra Correa. «The Pastoral Call for Post-Abortion Healing and Reconciliation in the U.S. A Vital Response to Today's New Evangelization. Conclusion». vita9.org [in linea], anno 1 (2007) [inserito il 1º aprile 2007], disponibile su World Wide Web: <http://vita9.org/>, [6 KB].

Note

V. Thorn, Project Rachel: Faith in Action, 161. Testo