Abortions bring pain and suffering

In a recent letter to the editor, Mr. Howard Pellett argues the need to defend women's reproductive rights. This letter ignores the very real emotional suffering and pain experienced by women who have had an abortion.

According to Project Rachel, an organization dedicated to helping women heal following an abortion, there have been nearly 36 million abortions in the U.S. since 1973. Some women experience relatively little trauma following an abortion; however, for many women, the experience is devastating, resulting in long lasting psychological trauma. Women who have been harmed by an abortion report some of the following symptoms: low self-esteem, grief, depression (sometimes to the point of suicidal thoughts and attempts), guilt, anger, nightmares, and drug and alcohol problems. Many groups organized to protect the availability of abortion deny the existence of post abortion trauma.

This often results in women believing their grief reactions to be abnormal, and that there is nowhere to turn for help.

If you are a woman experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, please contact a Pregnancy Care Clinic in Mount Vernon (360-428-4777), Oak Harbor (360-675-2096) or Anacortes (360-299-0568). These clinics offer free pregnancy testing and peer counseling. If you are a woman experiencing difficulty following abortion, please contact a Pregnancy Care Clinic or Project Rachel at 1-888-456-4673, for confidential post-abortion counseling.

Margaret Barton
Anacortes

Letters to the Editor - Skagit Valley Herald