Abortion Counseling

1
Abortion Counseling

• What Counselors Need To Know

2
What are your values?

• How do you feel about abortion?
• Will your beliefs enter the counseling process?
• Would you be able to counsel a women with
  abortion issue?

3
The History of Abortion in America

• History of Abortion
• Celebrating 25 years of Reproductive Freedom

4
The Court Decisions

• Roe v.Wade
• Planned Parenthood v. Casey

5
Violence Associated With Choice

• Anti-Abortion Violence 1998
• Anti-Abortion Violence in 1997
• Anti-Abortion Violence in 1996

6
Common feelings following an abortion

• Sense of relief
• Happiness

• Shame
• Guilt
• Regret
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Anger
• (Tentoni, 1995)

7
Psychological Effects of Abortion

• A.P.A. found little evidence of long-term
  psychological problems following an abortion
• Between 7 and 14 percent of women who have
  abortions experience significant amounts of
  emotional stress initially following the
  procedure
• 
  (Family Planning
  Perspectives, 1990)

8
Abortion

• Commonly Asked Questions

9
Pre Abortion Counseling Issues

• Client issues
• Religious and moral client issues
• Age of the client
• Goals for counseling women with unplanned
  pregnancies
• 
  (Beckman, L. and Harvey, S., 1998)

10
Post Abortion Counseling Issues

• Common reactions post abortion
• Variables that determine the extent of post
  abortion reaction
• Post abortion grief counseling
• 
  (Beckman, L. and Harvey, S.,
  1998)

11
If These Walls Could Talk

• Gain insight into the womans experience
• Learn about the abortion procedure
• Process your reactions and feelings

12
Activity

• How could your beliefs affect your client who is
  struggling with this issue?
• What are your reactions to the film?
• Would you be comfortable counseling the woman in
  this film that had an abortion?

13
References

• Beckman, L. Harvey, S. (1998). The new civil
  war the psychology, culture, and politics of
  abortion. Washington D.C.American Psychological
  Association.
• Edwards, S. (1997). Abortion study finds no
  long-term ill effects on emotional well-being.
  Family Planning Perspectives, 29(4), 193-195.
• Tentroni, S. (1995). A therapeutic approach to
  reduce post-abortion grief in university women.
  Journal of American College Health,44 (1), 35-38.