One study found that "17% of women felt guilt about having an abortion, 56% of women had a sense of guilt before they even went through the procedure and 26% said they mostly regret the abortion." (Dube 24). Sometimes, women have abortions and carry the guilt with them that when they do want to become pregnant, they are not capable because of the psychological stress associated with guilt.
The physical effects after an abortion my happen soon after the abortion may and may come years later. In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled that women do need to be informed about the potential health risks or psychological effects of abortion before the actual procedure. There are many side effects such as internal bleeding; infection can set within two hours of the abortion that can cause severe illness. Severe hemorrhage can happen at the time or directly after the abortion. There are many more serious side effects and if an abortion is not handled correctly the attempt to fix the mistake could result in a hysterectomy in which the woman's uterus is taken out completely.
However, each women experiences hers own crisis. I interviewed many women who all had abortions, under different circumstances. I picked two in particular. One woman became pregnant as a teenager and felt the need to have an abortion in fear of her parent's response to the pregnancy. The second woman was a teen who felt pressured by her boyfriend to have an abortion. .
I did not talk tot these women until months after the abortion. My job as an intern was to (with permission) sit in on a session, and to ask a few questions about emotions and unkempt health since the abortion. This is the case with these three stories. .
The first young woman's story is so sad to me. She had gotten pregnant by her boyfriend of nine months. Clearly her boyfriend was caring and loved her very much. But, she was too scared to inform her parents that she was not a virgin let alone the fact that she was pregnant.