There is now a suspected relationship between abortion and mental illness according to the available research. Here in the UK, following the publication of a report by the House of Commons’ Science and
Technology Committee, at the Government’s request, The Royal College of Psychiatrists is currently in the process of pulling together its research on the subject.
The move to update research in the field brings into question the longstanding assumption in Britain that a woman’s mental health is at greater risk from continuing with an unwanted pregnancy than from the possible emotional or psychological backlash of ending it. This sensitive new ground highlights the importance of the work that counsellors do in this field, both with women considering a termination, as well as with those coming to terms with having had one.
UK has got two organisations (Marie Stopes International (MSI) and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS)) offering counselling services and advice to women planning to do abortion in the UK.
According to data from these organisations, abortion affects a lot of women such that some feel as if they have lost a real child. There are so many women that end up in mental health hospitals as a result of abortion.
One may argue that a child born out of rape needs to be aborted because of the obvious reasons people but I again beg to disagree on this. Some women grow to love the children they got after being raped. The child is always innocent whether he was manufactured as a result of rape or incest and this child needs our protection and love as a society.
Yes, I agree that the decision to have an abortion should be a matter of individual conscience but individuals need to be guided on what is right and wrong when it comes to abortion. Some people argue that religion should not be a basis to help one make a decision regarding abortion but I think they are wrong. Religion is a way of life for some people and when one goes against it, one feels guilty most of the time. Religion should form a basis of decision making. As a Muslim, I will never support abortion except in fatal situations. So religion should be allowed to trump individual conviction.
The most important thing in all this discussion is to allow women to be entitled to safe pregnancy, safe delivery, and safe abortion. Clinics in Bwaise(Angola Zone) should not be allowed to be places
where women got for safe pregnancy, safe delivery or safe abortion. So the streamline of any abortion law should clearly be looking into this area other than legalising abortion. For instance, South Africa
reformed the abortion law in order to improve the health of women and prevent deaths among women. Abbey .K.S
