New Front in Abortion Battle

By Stephanie Simon - Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - Web Link
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August 12, 2008

For decades, the cultural battle over abortion has been about what goes on inside a woman's womb. But more and more, the focus is shifting to what goes on inside her head.

Activists on both sides are awaiting a comprehensive report reviewing two decades of published research on mental health and abortion, to be presented this week at the American Psychological Association's annual conference in Boston.

The report comes at a pivotal time as some judges and lawmakers have begun to make decisions in part based on peer-reviewed studies suggesting women who have had abortions are at higher risk of anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

Abortion opponents cite these studies, as well as testimony from women who describe years of psychological turmoil after abortions, to make the case that the state must restrict abortion to protect women's mental health.

The U.S. Supreme Court cited this reasoning last year in upholding a ban on a late-term procedure known as partial-birth abortion. South Dakota incorporated the same rationale into a new mandate that abortion doctors must tell prospective patients they will be putting themselves at risk for psychological distress and suicide.

The abortion-hurts-women view is also being used to promote a broad abortion ban on South Dakota's fall ballot. The argument: A woman may think she wants to end a pregnancy, may even feel relief when she does, but she will suffer for it later. So the state has a duty to stop her.

To supporters of legal abortion, this is equivalent to saying the state has a duty to warn women away from giving birth because some might later suffer postpartum depression. They acknowledge some women may regret their decision or feel sad about it, but say there is no proof abortion leads to serious mental illness -- or that women would be better off if they were forced to carry unwanted pregnancies.