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Feedback ForumWhat's your reaction to "Post-Abortion Politics"?Submissions for this question are no longer being accepted. Previously submitted comments appear below. Comments may have been edited for content or space. Poster: carolemarie Comment: I was pro-choice too. But I regret the abortions. Back in 1973, we didn't have ultrasounds. If I had been able to have one, I wouldn't have had my baby killed. It was not, as I was told, a blob of tissue. It had a heartbeat and fingers! I tried to suck it up and get over it and on with my life. Nobody wanted to hear that I felt bad about it. My pro-choice friends wanted it to be over. They didn't want to hear about nightmares or guilt. So I got the message and shut up. Abortion is a terrible solution to a problem. It kills the child and hurts the mother deeply. I wish I could erase that decision, but I can't. I did find healing in a post-abortion healing program. Now I am the mother of an adopted 7 year old, and I can't imagine the world without him. His mom is my hero, she was better than me, she did the hard thing and today the world is better because of her sacrifice. Abortion sucks and women deserve better! Carole Poster: Judith Anderson Comment: What other major surgical procedure on her body would a woman allow to take place without expecting to be fully informed? Who askes these health-related questions on behalf of a minor when parents are not notified? Why aren't more abortionists sued, and why are statistics on the numbers of women maimed and killed by abortionists not ever mentioned in shows like NOW's? Why is Planned Parenthood, the very rich and largest abortion provider, never asked by pro-abortion women to provide women with all available medical technology, like ultra-sounds, and why do they complain when women who care do? Why do women not automatically expect Planned Parenthood to counsel women before and support them by counseling after an abortion? Wake up ladies, the back alley has never gone away. You have been duped. Poster: Kelly R. Comment: Abortion is not the answer- women deserve better. I know personally the effects abortion has on women and men- because abortion effects everyone- just ask the highschooler who is missing a sibling, or a grandmother who is missing a grandchild. Abortion has had horrible effects on society and it saddens me. It's not the government saying telling women what to do with their body- just the body of the human being inside you. The arguments just don't work anymore- too many women are suffering the after effects. Poster: wayne Comment: I find it hard to beleive that NOW would do a program like this without showing some of the history of abortion. Without interviewing key people in the fight for abortion rights. People such as Dr. Bernard Nathanson, cofounder of NARAL. Or Norma McCorvey, the roe in the roe vs. wade decision that made abortion legal in all states. Why would NOW not even mention their names? Any woman that is thinking about having an abortion should research both of these people. Once again these people were instrumental in making abortion legal in the USA, why then did NOW not reference them? An inquiring person should research these people and what they are saying. Poster: Barbara Comment: I was outraged at what the anti-abortion group is up to now and am glad I watched the show to know what is the current thinking. Too bad most women do not stay on top of reproductive issues since this is just the tip of the iceberg on rolling back women's rights. Women need to wake up! I am an independent, never lived with a man, never married, and was raised very Catholic. I am a responsible, educated and successful business woman. I believe in a womans right to choose and will tell everyone I know what is going on. Poster: BenJudah Comment: Sad that PBS chose to air this! I killed my child 15 years ago! I live with pain, emptiness everyday. It was a child He had ears, nose, hearts, fingers. I should have been put in jail a few months later and I would have been, It is a hard to live with, but what keeps me going is knowing that when I get to heaven I will be reunited. I took away my childrens oldest sibling. I have a question for all of those who have had an abortion what makes you different than any other murdere you took a life a seperate human being than your self,. Poster: Veronica Comment: This show was the most outrageous piece of pro-abortion propaganda! If women think they can take part in killing their unborn children and not experience consequences I believe they are in denial. Someday, whether in this life or the next they will have to deal with their decision. Don't get me wrong. I feel for these women. Many of my friends have aborted their children and suffer tremendously. In my view they are victims too. But getting back to this bias piece, how cleaver was it to show the pro-abortion psychologist with a pregnant daughter! Very sly... Finally, 95% of women who view the ultrasound choose life, attesting to the fact that when women see their babies most will not choose death for them.... Poster: Sy Glasser Comment: The program mentions that 10-20% of women have been adversely affected by having an abortion. That means that 80-90% of women are basically comfortable with their decision. Japanese women typically have three abortions. the 10-20% distressed individuals would be comprised of those who would be in need of therapy in any regard. Poster: Rosalie Taney Comment: I think a women should be given the facts before she makes any choices. A choice to aborted a child is one that women will never beable to take back once it is made. Informed choices on aboriton is not only being respectful toward the women but educational before they decide on what could be a life changing decison. Women need to know the possible effects of emotional, mental, Physical and spiritual health. Poster: Helen Comment: My reaction to Post-Abortion Politics is that Congress should create a law to ban abortion because they need to tell these women what you are doing is wrong. I didn't know that abortion can cause deep painful suffering inside for those women who does not want a child for various reasons. I was in shock when the women was crying about killing a fetus and may have said that the devil is going to punish you. It feels like pity for killing someone you don't even know and it feels like Jesus is ashamed at us for our actions. My condolences, and heart go out to all the women that terminated their preganancy. Let God be with them to heal this trauma process. I feel sorry for them its like losing something that you was about to love, talk, share with, bond with, and now it seems like its gone and its no use to bring them back. Poster: joyce in oregon Comment: I chose many years ago to have an abortion and, yes, I have lived with that memory. I have gotten sad occasionally but certainly NOT suicidal or deeply depressed. Many people get that way without abortion. What about the women who DO go through the childbirth process -- the women who stay in abusive relationships both verbal and physical -- the women who get divorced from these men -- the women who then live in poverty -- endlessly struggling, spiraling downward -- with children at their side -- what about the depression and suicidal thoughts of THESE women???? I will fight to my dying breath for all women to have a CHOICE and not be told by someone who have never gone through the experience and, especially men in government, telling me what I can or cannot do with my body. Poster: Pam Comment: I had both my teen daughters watch the piece in order to teach them that women are truely at risk for losing their reproductive/health rights in this country. What happens to their own bodies and what is best for their well being will no longer be up to them and their doctor. Government officials will say women do not have a voice. Will we leave this nation for zealot extremists to run? It is up to every woman in this land to become an active participant in the political system to keep our democratic rights. Thanks so much for your story. Poster: Catherine Apostle Comment: I'm concerned that the show (1/2 hour) could not give equal emphasis to both sides of the abortion issue. the topic is so emotionally loaded that it is imperative both sides of the issue be given equal time and weight. what about the emotional distress suffered by a 14 year old giving birth or, as one of my friends experienced, being so tired and emotionally and materially drained that children already in the family could not be given the attention and care they deserved and needed Poster: Dorothy Comment: The idea that women suffer from psychological effects after abortin is completely wrong, untrue and ridiculous. I have had three abortions and am only glad and relieved that I was able to have them. I am happy about it and always have been. This decision belongs to individual women only, and no others have any right to interfere. Poster: John Rielly Comment: I was greatly and sadly disappointed. There was clearly an unnecessary pro-abortion bias to a problem that exists whether in the millions or in the thousands or even in a dozen cases. To simply suggest that everyone who shows concern for a woman who is distraught over a decision which she made is motivated by a political goal is absurd. I know both pro and anti abortion people who show great empathy towards people in pain whether they are female, male, purple or pink. They are simply caring and I think, good people. Any group that exploits the suffering of others has there own conscious to live with. I prefer not to paint everyone with such a broad brush. I hope that this episode was an anomoly because I expect more of a station that calls itself Public Broadcasting. Sincerely, John H. Rielly Poster: Mark Comment: I'm so tired of junk being presented as science. When unqualified people can build a portfolio of articles and the only thing they have is quantity, but no validity, why is it supposedly smart people take it on face value? Which of the many uncredited universities did David Reardon get his PHD? I suspect is was one of those that you pay a fee and submit a resume not a real disertation. Poster: Karen Comment: The pro-life's movement new tactic that they're helping women is a farce! There are women who are not mentally stable in the first place and having an abortion may be too much for them. I agree that counseling should take place before an abortion, but pro-life doesn't want to help women, they want to take away their choice. I am pro-choice, not pro-abortion. I believe a woman has the right to choose and she needs to live with her choice. Counseling is a must, before and after, but to take away the choice is not the answer! Poster: sandra pitts Comment: As to the post-abortion symtoms-they may have occured had the woman had the child. Some people are inclined to mental or life problems no matter the situation. - I don't care for statiscs as they can be skewed however how many abortions versus post-abortion problems numbers not percents. How many children would have been raised or more nearly not raised by a loving parent willing to put the child first and not themselves-delving in someone's personal life is very touchy. Poster: Margie Comment: Thank you for covering this topic. I am always glad I watch NOW because I get information I wouldn't get elsewhere in the media or to the depth you explore your topics. I'm a faithful Friday night NOW addict and I follow it with Bill Moyers' Journal, to top off the evening. Sometimes I feel like I'm alone in my thinking---then Friday nights gives me comfort. So, thanks again. Poster: Malacha Hall Comment: It is obvious that many of the lawmakers either have never lived during a time when abortion was illegal, or have forgotten what it was like. I hate to think that we can go back to the time when we see our friends be forced into poverty, or have a back alley abortion, or worse yet, die from a botched abortion. If men bore the same consequences as women from an unwanted pregnancy, there would be no question as to choice. Poster: Clare Butler Comment: It was refreshing to here about a group who is truely concerned with the welfare of women, Pro-Voice, and not pushing a political agenda. I wish you had given them some time on your broadcast of NOW instead of spending so much time showing the Christian women weeping and wailing. I think both sides have some valid points, but refuse to see that there is any worth in what the other side is saying. If the pro-life people are really sincere about preventing abortions they should be strongly encouraging the use of birth control. In fact, many of these groups opposse both birth control education and support. They should also be working to see that women have a strong support system from the government which includes excellent pre and post natal care, free daycare, maternity leave etc. Again it is often the very same people who are so against abortion who are also oppossed to these measures. It would be interesting to know what the abortion rate is in France compared to the US, since they have this kind of support system for child age bearing women. Lastly, if they are so pro-life they should be just as strongly against war, poverty, and capital punishment since these take so many lives. As for the pro-choice people they need to acknowledge that there is in fact a human life involved in the abortion decision and measures which may help women to be more thoughtful about it like counselling or ultra sound should not automatically be fought. They could comprise and instead push for some of the above mentioned benefits for women if they agree not to abort. Where they need to hold the line more firmly is in fighting for the right of third world women to recieve funding for all forms birth control including abortion where it is sadly often a matter of life and death. Poster: nikki halpert Comment: I miss your show but will do my best to catch it. I personnaly had two abortions in my twenties. And, now am the mother of twin girls. Ironic I don't regret abortions - having children is a huge responsability and every woman knows it because, no matter how good the father is, it's ultimately the woman who is the main care taker. The state and church have no voice when a woman's body, life and future is at stake. The hard part is having to make the decision when you are pregnant therefore very emotionnal. But a woman knows when she is ready. The mental impact of having a child is harder than recovering from an abortion. I don't look back. I don't know how old my children would have been. I look at my girls now and spend so much time with them, giving them my time, my patience etc and it has not been always easy. I can't imagine becoming a mother when children are not desired. I told my daughters about the abortions - told them it was the one right I would fight for so they, like me, can make a choice for themselves. I hope Americans are intelligent enought not to overturn, Roe vs Wade and to change a iota of this right women have fought to hard to have. Poster: smiller Comment: Once again the propaganda surges.... brainwashing at its best and the power of suggestion full steam ahead. Do these people ever really consider the woman's position and next several decades of her life? Where's the man when the nitty gritty needs done in child rearing, the financial earning power goes down the tube and standard of living is next to poverty? He did his six minutes and now it's all left up to the woman. But oh, does he have an opinion on what should be done or not done. Perhaps if the man took over at birth and raised the child, instead of the woman, the tune of anti-abortionists would change in a heartbeat. And let's not forget those bleeding heart women that have the sanctamonious opinions too. How fast would they change their tune when an unwanted pregnancy happens to them or a loved one who isn't in the position to raise a child!!!!!!!!! Poster: Lynn Comment: Imagine the mental health of women forced to care for children they have no desire or capacity to care for--and imagine the mental health of their children. Restricting abortion has far greater negative mental health consequences than keeping abortion available. Poster: Doris Comment: This program made me furious! This new tactic to force women to have unwanted children is just another in the endless battle to control other people's lives. When I was young and stupid, I got pregnant and carried the baby to term, adopting him out without ever seeing him. Later on, still stupid but a little older and wiser, I became pregnant again and this time had an abortion. If I had kept either or these babies they would have had an uneducated, untrained mother who had little chance of avoiding poverty. But I went on and finished college, had a good paying job, traveled, bought a home, and never married. I didn't have to. I never think about the aborted fetus. But I still yearn for the child I gave away. Abortion is always a difficult choice but it must remain available for those of us who need it. Poster: M S Carroll Comment: Thirty years ago I had an abortion. For three things I am thankful. Abortion was available, safe and legal. I had the abortion. I was able to care for the children I already had. The people who use mental health problems or spiritual fractures as the reasons for abolishing abortion must take into their homes the women they convince not to have abortions and the children they produce, and they must keep them and support them for the rest of their lives. If they are unable or unwilling to do this, they must stop working to make abortion illegal, and thus unsafe, once again. Poster: Robin Comment: It wasn't a very balanced show. You had a lot from the anti's but were not interviewing pro-choice groups. Poster: Monica Jones Comment: I am actually pro-choice but was aghast at how biased this show was. I appreciate balanced and fair coverage of topics because I care about the truth not about validating my own beliefs. I am furious that tax dollars are used to fund this or any other kind of propoganda. Poster: Gail Blesi Comment: P.S. (To my earlier comment): Thank you for your coverage of this malicious new strategy of the anti-living fanatics, who continue to prey on the vulnerabilities of women. Let us hope that most are not so gullible as to believe for a moment that the “mental health interests” of women are truly at consideration here. Surely we’ve learned something from the lessons of science and history… Let us protect each other from this pack of wolves, now cleverly dressed in yet another version of sheep’s clothing.rn Poster: Malia Ondrejka Comment: Why is there such vehemence against abortion and not the same outrage against war? Poster: Janice Comment: I cannot believe the lengths the anti-abortion people will go to! For most women making the choice to terminate a pregancy is very tough. The guilt they feel is overwheming enough but to force them to see their ultrasound and tell them they will suffer psychological problems afterwards is horrendous! Poster: Allan Parker Comment: I appreciate the attempt my NOW to present both sides of this deeply important question which I believe should be imposed on What are the effects of actual abortions on women in reality, not political or legal theory? I think all your readers should especially read the editorial by the Canadian Medical Journal on your website on the polarizing, but important nature of this inquiry. They note that they subjected Dr. Reardon's article to extra rigorous peer review and still decided to publish it, and that the policy should be left to others. Thank you for helping us all to find the truth, a search we should never abandon. Allan Parker Poster: n. Holland Comment: I became pregnant while using an IUD. Since the child was unwanted by me and the father we decided on abortion. I have never reqretted this decision because I believe it is more wrong to bring an unwanted child into the world if you are not emotionally or financially prepared. I believe the father and myself would have resented this child and not been the kind of parents he or she would have deserved. I would ask any one who opposes abortion, how many unwanted children have you adopted? It should be apparent by the number of orphanages filled with children that there are not enough good parents to go around. Poster: Kim Comment: You'll SELECT feedback for this page? What? Only feedback that supports YOUR side of this issue? Poster: Kim Comment: Wow, is this program one sided or what? I was completely intrigued as the program came on, but as it droned on and on, I realized it wasn't unbiased at all, it was a commercial for the Anti-Life campaign. Poster: John Linde Comment: I would like the pro life groups to change to PRO CHILD. How concerned are these groups for the child after birth without being judgemental of them. Poster: Wayne Baillie Comment: I thought the reporting was obviously biased in favour of the pro-abortion side. The claim of scientific data showing negative effects of abortions was portrayed as merely a scheme to control public opinion on the issue. This extreme scepticism on any data showing negative effects of abortion by the pro-abortionists demonstrates in itself exactly what it accuses the anti-abortionists of, a wilful attempt to ignore truth for the purpose of persuading the public of what it believes is right, that the murder of unborn people is somehow acceptable. Poster: norm hart Comment: What university granted David Reardon's PhD? Poster: peggy Comment: I watched the show on NOW and I felt a sigh of relief for this issue to finally be addressed. I had an abortion in 2005 and all the emotional pain is so true. The thoughts of suicide, depression, anger, grief all the above and then some. I regretted having the abortion because for me and I am sure like many others, it may have felt like a choice but it was not. It was pressure even from the man who I was pregnant by he threaten me in so many ways. I was scared and confused but in my heart I didn’t want to do it. I was 38 yrs old at the time so I was not a teenager or a woman in her 20's. At the clinic they didn’t care I thought maybe during the counseling they would give me some kind of glimmer of hope about keeping my baby. Instead I found myself with reversed psychology from them about all the reasons not to have to this baby. I realize that these places were not in the choice of saving lives but taking them and by any means necessary for the all mighty dollar. I didn’t know anything about the mental damage It can and will cause on women until after it was over. I found myself standing in my kitchen ready to take my life with a knife because I could not deal with what had happen just 24 hours earlier. Everything hit me all at once. Women are suffering after having abortions it is a secret shame, who can a woman confide in after taking her baby's life virtually no one. So they push the emotional damage under the carpet and the pain the hurt and the loss builds with in them. I thank God was able to receive help from Christian counseling and I am slowly trying to put my life together. When I saw on tv about finally exposing the truth on this issue I felt like God had sent me a sign to help others in this issue. I will never have another abortion. But I am committed to saving babies and women about mental health damage. I hope I have helped someone and maybe saved a life. Poster: Lauren S. Comment: Why does the pro-choice side not interview women who have lost babies through spontaneous abortion and stillbirth? I had three miscarriages and a stillbirth at nearly six months. What I experienced was a period of emotional instability after each of these events, whether I had wanted the pregnancy or not. The aftermath of the stillbirth was especially painful and took several months to get past. My doctors explained to me that a cycle was disrupted and one of the consequences was a hormonal adjustment. Like other times in a woman's life -- before periods, during menarche in adolescence and menopause in middle age -- these hormonal changes can make us weepy, especially tired, short-tempered, etc. In due time, things settle down. It seems these anti-abortion folks concentrate only on women who have chosen abortion AND who have had prolonged emotional problems afterward. To get the real picture, they need to compare them to women who have chosen abortion who have NOT had prolonged problems afterward; women who have had miscarriages (spontaneous abortions) who have had prolonged problems afterward; and women who have had miscarriages but have not had prolonged problems afterward. There are too many categories of data missing from their so-called 'scientific' studies. I've known women who had early miscarriages who are still mourning the loss of their 'child' 20 years later. Seems to me they have problems unrelated to hormonal issues. It is not normal to grieve that long, especially for a two-month-old fetus, and especially when they have had several other children. They have other issues that have not been dealt with. Before laws are passed preventing women from choosing abortion, a whole lot more real, authentic science needs to be done around the whole issue of childbearing. The pseudoscience used by the pro-life people is laughably inadequate. Developing studies on women who have had abortions with little emotional aftermath, spontaneous abortions and stillbirths would be really easy to do. Just draw up a survey form and start passing it out. That would put the pro-lifers data in proper perspective. Poster: KVIE Viewer Comment: The program did not mention how many procedures are performed per year or what percentage of those cases are hardship cases. I suspect that 1 M procedures are performed per year and that 10% of them are hardship cases. Poster: Kornelia Comment: Right to choose but many women have a child after an abortion. Poster: William C Dale Comment: “Post-Abortion Politics” was good reporting – not-so-good science. It seems self-evident that any woman facing an unwanted pregnancy is in a difficult situation and it would not be surprising if she has other problems. In my opinion as a research scientist, the proper control group for post-abortion follow-up would be women whose unwanted pregnancies were dealt with by other means than abortion. There must be many of them among visitors to anti-abortion clinics who elect to have the procedure anyhow. How well do they fare afterward? Incidentally, “Right-to-know” requires presenting ALL views, not just propaganda. W.C. Dale, Ph.D. Poster: linda in portland Comment: So many of life's painful or difficult activities lead to psychological trauma, depression, suicidal thoughts, or substance abuse. Marriages, for example, 50% of which end badly. Yet I don't see anyone trying to outlaw weddings, or forcing us to watch videos of divorce hearings when we pick up the marriage license. If these women are depressed about their abortions, they should think about how depressed they'd be living with children they didn't want, whose fathers they despised, rather than trying to ruin other women's lives. Poster: beverly a linens Comment: Taking responsibility for our actions as adults is something women fought for years. now this group want to take it away. What is next? I'm 70 and lived through it all - both legal and illegal. Is it just women who buy any opportunity to blame someone else for what they do? That is the question? Must we continue to whine? I'm embarrassed! Poster: KAY REID Comment: I HAD AN ABORTION IN 1945. I DID NOT HAVE ANY NEGATIVE EFFECTS. Poster: Darlene Little Comment: If the pro-life groups would spend their efforts promoting adoption instead of seeking to take away a woman's right to choose, abortion rates would significantly decrease. IN this country, it is NOT socially acceptable to give your baby up for adoption. IF it was socially acceptable to give you baby up for adoption, abortion would not be the only choice women have when they have an unplanned pregnancy they can't deal with. Poster: Ellen Emerling Comment: RE: Abortion and womens health: Every year millions of divorces leave women depressed, suicidal and angry. By their logic maybe marriage should be banned! Poster: Robert Bateman Comment: I dont care! This should not be an issue. It is one because the right and left want it to be. Abortion will go on even if it is not legal. It always has and it will not stop if right wing fanatics succeed in repealing rowe/wade. As for me I think it is wrong, but I dont make desicions for the women of America, and I certainly am not holy enough to pass judgment on those who seek to have one. SO when I say I dont care, I mean I dont care for one side or the other because this is a non issue for me. Poster: Miriam Comment: I had an abortion and I'm fine! I also had two lovely, well-adjusted children (now 39 and 34). Why don't they interview people like me? Poster: David Haddon Comment: One thing is clear from the program: some women believe that their abortions have harmed them. For the Texas Legislature to require abortion providers to tell this to women seems a reasonable informed-consent requirement. Nevertheless, a pro-abortion representative on camera decries this as intolerable. Only recently a (female) UCLA psychiatrist challenged her profession to face up to this problem because she commonly encounters women with this complaint. NOW, by contrast, seems to want to minimize it. Why? Poster: Terry Comment: At least we don't need to wonder if PBS is veering off of it's anti-Christian, pro-abortion bias. Poster: Anita Kunau-Hanlon Comment: I get very angry when I see women so easily manipulated. As a woman who has taken advantage of my right for choice, to see someone use such a right for political reasons needs to move to a country where there are no rights for women at all. And the only country I can come up with is a Muslim country. What do they want American women to do, go back to the back streets of America, or some other illegal situation. Those are the situations where I would indeed suffer, but not from the loss of a fetus but from the loss of my self esteem esteem from having to go so low to find this as a choice. I think that the women who say they suffer mental anguish from their abortions would so if they suffered the loss of hangnail or a relationship. These are women who would suffer no matter what the situation. Poster: Meredith Skeie Comment: Every woman has a choice however I wish I was better informed. I was in tears at the clinic before and left before my sedative wore off. I ended my relationship after 1 1/2 years. I was in therapy and still am I wish there was someone at the clinic that day that saw me crying before the procedure and stopped me. Some woman are sure of their decision, but some are not. I believe that if a woman appears to be crying or upset they shouldn't allow an abortion until the woman is composed and sure of her decision. It's not a business it's a life. It's my biggest regret. Poster: Virginia Gillespie Comment: Post Abortion Recovery This is a gross exploitation of woman’s feelings. A woman is of course going to feel sad, depressed, and regretful after making the decision to have an abortion unless they are truly immoral, callous or just plain ignorant. So many women make the decision with great doubt and angst. If they’ve never had an abortion they don’t know how they will fell afterwards. To “help” these women cope with their guilt and anguish then use their signatures to overturn other women’s right to have an abortion is exploitation of the worst kind. How many women are forced to have an abortion? These women chose to have an abortion. Now their regret is being used to try to prevent other women from having the same right to choose and that is wrong no matter how you look at it. The women who are run this program and the women it are being unfair. People who feel they have made a mistake have a right to let other women know how they feel but they don’t have a right to take away another woman’s right to make the same choice. I was forced to have an abortion when I was 15. I didn’t want it and short of running away from home I couldn’t prevent it. I anguish over it, grieve for the child I couldn’t have and resent my parents for making me have it. I even resent the father of that child for going against my wishes but I married him anyway and I don’t want to prevent other women the right to choose for themselves. Poster: eric Comment: 15 years ago Imade the obversation that all the women I knew who had abortions were psycological wrecks. a lady at the table quietly corrected me:she said many of the women were psycological wrecks before the abortion. Poster: name withheld Comment: The show was biased against the anti-abortion group. I grieve still, 38 years later, for having an abortion but I was the good little wife obedient and separated by 3000 miles from my family. I subsequently divorced that self-centered selfish man who placed his 'career goals' above a child. Now I'm forever on anti-depressants. Women must be offered options and counsel. It is not unreasonable to women to have information about potential impacts of abortion. If the pro-abortion group really looked after women's rights they would make every effort for all women to know all options when faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Poster: Andrea Szala St. Germain Comment: Thank you for airing “Post-Abortion Politics”. Few have the concern to inform the public of Pro-Life vs Pro-Abortion issues. Peering within the womb prior to abortion acknowledges human life, not merely fetal tissue as being terminated. Would it not be idiotic to believe no one regretted or suffered from the decision to abort? Poster: Kara Comment: I missed the show, but I have looked at some of the resources on this website, and I have also studied the most important resource: women who have had abortions, and women who have decided not to. For a year and a half, I worked at an abortion clinic. I spoke to the women who were faced with this choice, and there are as many stories as there are women. The most important factor in a woman's reaction to her abortion is the way in which she made the decision to have one. If the decision was hers and hers alone, she will be less likely to experience intense trauma. If anyone else convinced her it was what she HAD to do, she will most likely experience very negative emotions. Similarly, if someone convinces a woman she must have a baby even though she does not want one, she could experience negative emotions, or post partum depression. The main point in all of this is that the decision of when to start a family must be made freely... free of coercion, free of bribes, free of government interference. Poster: Joan Granger Comment: Do we forget about the women who could not get legal abortions and had to give up 9 months of their lifves becasue they were raped and had no desire to carry a child of a rapist? Are there any statistics of women who have brought their children to term and suffered from post-partem depression and they considered suicide. How about those statistics? Poster: Jeri Sue Heath Comment: Men should not have any say in a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy. No one ever talks about the tousands of children who are abused, starved and killed because they are unwanted. We have let the religious zealots enfringe on basic rights in many issues not only women's rights. Women have been terminating unwated pregnancies for hundreds of years if they had the opportunity. There are many reasons and circumstances to control population growth. Many living conditions are not conducive to a loving environment for another mouth to feed, clothe, and educate. Intelligent women can think for themselves and do not need all this emotional furvor to distract them. Our government should not give credence to this pressure to control women's lives. What is happening to our freedom???? Poster: David Comment: This program is unbelievably biased in favor of abortion. It's interesting how PBS doesn't interview educated clear thinking pro-life folks. But rather seems to relate pro-life thinking with religious fanatical groups. The abortion of a baby in the womb doesn't cause mental health problems in most women who have the procedure? Really? Poster: Jeffre Dreyer (female) Comment: I am shocked at the new approach to take my right to a safe abortion away from me. The problem continues to be that the right wing has gained control and that men still control politics. We continue to peddle backwards as these people continue to gain control at all levels of government. Poster: Kate McCarthy Comment: I don't understand why men even have an opinion on this subject. My hope is to someday not have any tax dollars go to a women's right to choose, then it will be taken out of the hands of people where it does not belong. Poster: Helen Crowe Comment: This was so one sided. Never a word about the poor woman who did not choose or was not allowed to have an abortion, and in great agony after giving birth she suffered mentally as well as physically, and how many stories we read every year where a young woman has ended the life of her child or abandoned it, and as in today's newspaper, killed it by putting it in the microwave!! How many women are now serving time in jail because of what she did to the child she gave birth to. And you think women who choose abortions have mental problems? Think again. Poster: David Comment: This program is unbelievably biased in favor of abortion. It's interesting how PBS doesn't interview educated clear thinking pro-life folks. But rather seems to relate pro-life thinking with religious fanatical groups. The abortion of a baby in the womb doesn't cause mental health problems in most women who have the procedure? Really? Poster: Mary Polk Comment: I would like to see a study that compares women's mental health divided into four groups. 1. women who had an abortion 2. women who put a child up for adoption 3. Women who kept a child 4. women who had no children. I believe all of the above have a bearing on a woman's mental health. Of course it should be noted in the study that none of the women in the different groups were pressured to make the decision that they made. It was one of Choice. Poster: B Mackenzie Comment: After having had two abortions, two children, and a hysterectomy, I have to say I have a very happy life and no regrets about what I've done. I was and am strong that I made the right decisions for both my health and my family. For those people who feel the need to interfere-- control yourselves. Abortions will happen whether the procedures are legal or not, and you cannot stop them. So I suggest you let the medical community handle it as each physcian sees fit. For the radicals who feel the need to bomb clinics... you are more the murderer than any mother of an unborn child-- especially as the world's population is over 6 billion. Poster: Lee Ellen Benjamin Comment: I am a Texan. I am appalled that the Legislature has imposed their religious will on me and the women of Texas! The warning that the Legislature has imposed on doctors is absurd! Those same symptoms are present in post-natal women, too. I made a mistake by getting pregnant in 1971, but I DID NOT make a mistake when I had an abortion! I did not have port-traumatic stress disorder from the choice. Yes, I am in favor of women’s health; giving them the right to choose how they are treated is imperative! MEN - who are they to decide this? They will never be raped. They will never be abandoned with a baby. They will never know what it is to carry a child to term either! Men – and most legislators are men – never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. Poster: Lynn Rasberry Comment: I watched your show and was so proud of all the interviews and video of the post-abortion scene. Well done. I agree with the facts regarding the mental symptoms a woman has after an abortion. I was married and 28 years old when I had an abortion because the timing was not conveniant to have a baby. Now I am 52 years old and never become pregnant again, and I just finished menopause this last year. I realize that the abortion killed my only child. I agree with pre-counseling and an ultrasound before the abortion procedure I never was offerred either at Planned Pregnancy Clinic I has the abortion at. Could these have changed my mind? I'll never know, nor will I ever have a baby born to me. Poster: jane bierdeman-fike Comment: In all the political, religious, psychiatric, scientific and psychological comment, position papers, surveys and so called research on the issue of abortion, I am constantly puzzzeled on how and why the male role and responsibility is constantly ignored? Are there any attempts to study the fathers of these fetuses and babies? Do they have any regrets, depressions, any twinges of conscience regarding their role and responsibility? Are there any legal pursuits to prevent them from fleeing the states where they have impregnated females with or without so called consent? Are public welfare workers and other therapists legally prevented from pursuing their legal, financial and moral responsibilities with them? Are there any attempts to make the fathers view the fetuses in utero? Even more basic, are there any special eduction-- moral, religious, psychiological, medical and scientific and financial--- available to males on the facts and consequences of their their ability to create life? Poster: Cherie Comment: I couldn't help but notice that the side that claims to care for women by promoting choice is very judgemental while the pro-life and abotion recovery side was very sincere. I could see that they truely want to help women while the other side just wants to make them feel bad for trying. Poster: Kathy in Ohio Comment: I pressed submit but it reappeared so I don't know if what I said sent. In short: I am in my 70s. I had an abotrion in the early 1970s in New York State because it was then illegal in Ohio. I had great depression and knew I was not able to care for more than the two children we already had. My husband was supportive of my decision. He was very busy with running his own business. I have never been sorry. I knew it was best for the child and with our situation. In fact, I would have almost become non functional if I would have had to have another child...and the child would have suffered for it. Are those who want to take the choice away ready to give more money for mental health programs to help those children who are unwanted. Poster: Bill Rieken Comment: I wish anti-abortionists would show equal concern for the mental distress suffered by PTSD victims of the Iraq Occupation. And I wish the anti-abortionists would take responsibility for unwanted babies born to women who live in poverty. Poster: Wende L. Adkins Comment: God Bless PBS. I haave viewed your programs for years. Tonights..I was one who choose that dreadful choice of ABORTION. The affects are to painful and shameful to mention. There is the effects that carry for 35 years. I will help to let women know the pain of ABORTION. I would like to purchage the video from NOW. How can I get this information. Wende L. Adkins Texas Poster: Jim Comment: I am an avid watcher of NOW, and thoroughly enjoy its coverage of the Iraq War, Health Care, Labor issues, etc. That said, I strongly urge you to drop your advocacy of the pro-abortion movement. The fact that you appear concerned about lives of Iraqis, American soldiers and working and lower class Americans, while being unconcerned about the lives of unborn children, is extremely destructive to the progressive movement. Poster: Nancy J, Moore Comment: Re the abortion question we would welcome the inclusion of abortion practices in other coutries, especially in Europe, Aisia, Latin America, to give a much wider context for U.S.A decisions re abortion. So often discussion presents only two sides of the question as practiced here in the U.S.A thus limiting knowledge of a wider variety of practices Poster: R. Comment: Your report was very interesting. I had an abortion four years ago and went into the decision thinking I would not suffer regret, but I did. It was a very emotional experience. I am extremely pro-choice, but part of choice is being aware of what women go through. I am an atheist, a liberal, and come from a very pro-choice family. My mother had several abortions and never experienced any negative consequences. I didn't expect any. I hope pro-choice activists will not allow the pro-life side to be the only ones to show sympathy and give a voice to those that have had a negative experience from having an abortion. I am pro-choice and want everyone to remember the beauty of that word is choice. It is possible to regret having an abortion and recognize you may have been able to make a better decision if you realized you couild be effected that way, and recognize that not everyone will have that response and they should be free to make a choice that is right for them. Poster: Wendy Comment: I just caught the end of this show on Post-Abortion Politics. It interested me because I had an abortion when I was 23 and married. My husband (whom I am still married to) said that I should have an abortion, that we could not make it with another child (I had already given birth to one child). I was young, stupid, scared and listened to him. I am now 45. We have 2 children 22 and 19. My 22 year old was 3 months old when I had the abortion. I still remember every second of that day. I am pro-choice. I am a Lutheran. I believe that every woman has the right to choose for herself. I don't hold a grudge, nor am I angry with my husband. We have both grown, changed, and have another child after that abortion. It is not something I would ever do again. It does still effect me. I still cry about it. I would not say that it damaged my psychologically. I certainly hope and pray that abortion remains legal. It is the womans choice. Poster: Thomas T. Panto Comment: Recently, the priests of magic cults claimed that THINKING about sex, and playing with yourself was a ''sin''. These same omnipotent preachers, are now cursing, condemning and accusing women, claiming that abortion is a ''Sin Against God'', or is ''inspired by satan'' or is a ''Murder'' of a human being.... and THAT is the cause of pain and suffering for women who have abortions. Why is there no law against preachers teaching Humans to hate themselves, and each other, for refusing to worship their cult ? Poster: Marilyn Comment: If there is there any more outrageous or repellent idea than an self-appointed guardian telling any independent adult person in a free society what is good for her. Would it ever be considered if that person were a man? Poster: Jeanne Comment: As I'm watching your program, I feel that I'm being run through the ringer yet again. I have two children...both of whom were not wanted by their father, and both of whom I fought to bring into this life. I am grateful that the decision to have them was up to me, and NOT UP TO THE GOVERNMENT or any other person. I can feel the pain of the women who chose abortion, and I can understand why some may have felt that they were coerced into a decision that was wrong for them. I could have made the same decision all those years ago, and I'm happy now that I did not do so, at a time when Roe V. Wade had just been decided. But I would not trade the right to make that decision myself for anything. Abortion, as tragic as it is, must remain legal. --- Jeanne Poster: TH Brown Comment: Susan B. Anthony felt that abortion was an oppression of women, and fought against abortion, so it is not a new idea that abortion is violence against women. Ken Burns left this out of his miniseries about women's rights causing me to suspect every thing else he does. Poster: Nadine R. Dilworth Comment: While I never had an abortion, if I needed to have one I would have. I'm sure having an abortion is not a pleasant experience, but being forced to have and raise a child you do not want would be a lot worse. Poster: Deanna Ekings Comment: Good Job! Of course being a post-abortive Christian woman, I would have loved to see more on the idea of PASS (Post Abortion Stress Syndrome) than the fight against the rights of a woman to choose. To me the rights of a woman to choose should include informative and educational material, including but not limited to ultrasound, post-abortive & pre-abortive behavior and medical complications following the procedure (a term I use lightly) I have both physical and psychological Post Abortive symptoms. Please continue to air programs like these and my God Bless you on your journey. |
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