In recent years, we have been concerned at the level of distress many of our clients experience after an abortion (something we refer to as post-abortion distress or abortion regret).
In response to this, we commissioned some research to help us better understand the needs of the women contacting us. You can review the full text for this research here: Why do women contact pregnancy support services?
Summary of the research
We reviewed 1,159 web chat messages from clients who were asking for support. Out of these messages, 512 messages either asked for help with pregnancy decisions (70%), or support due to distress after an abortion (30%).
The group asking for help with pregnancy decisions were categorised as follows:
- Internal conflict – conflict between desired outcomes and internal values – 22%
- Coercion by partner or family – 16%
- Pressure from difficult circumstances – 7%
- Reason not specified in message – 55%
Aside from showing the level of difficulty these women are facing in their pregnancy, the most concerning feature is that, for the women contacting us for support with pregnancy decisions, 16% are feeling coerced into having an abortion by a partner or family member.
As 55% of the messages gave no reason for the contact, it’s possible that the coercion figure above is actually higher.
This is only a small, self-selected sample, so we do not know what that means for the wider population. But any indication that women are feeling pressured to have an unwanted abortion, whatever the reason, should concern us all.
From our many years of conversations with women experiencing post-abortion distress, it is our impression that the women who most regret their abortion tend to be those who felt pressured into having an abortion that they did not choose.
This is deeply troubling, and suggests more work is needed to safeguard women from being pressured into having an abortion they do not actually want.
