Increasingly, abortion activists are pushing for the legalization of abortion for girls of the right to “reproduce health”. These misguided efforts completely ignore the entire negative physical, mental, social, and psychological impacts abortion without parental knowledge and consent, yet it is the parents who have to deal with the aftermath. Any provision related to health, reproductive health, reproductive health services, or abortion in the context of girls should be deleted. Where that is not possible, such provisions should also include recognition of the rights of parents to guide reproductive health-related decisions.
The negative impacts abortion has on girls are quite numerous. If a teenager has had an abortion in the last six months, she is six times likely to attempt suicide than teenagers who have not had an abortion. Teenagers who have an abortion are four times more likely to commit suicide than adults who abort. It is also discovered that women who have abortions have six times higher rate of suicide than women who carry to term.
The psychological problems associated with teenage girls’ abortion can not be over emphasized. Compared to teens in general, teenage girls who have an abortion are nearly three times more likely to be admitted to a mental health hospital. Teens who have had an abortion compared to teens who carry even an “unwanted pregnancy” to term are five times more likely to seek help in the future for psychological and emotional problems. After an abortion, teens are three times likely to report subsequent trouble sleeping and are nine times more likely to report using marijuana. Teens who abort are two, twice as likely as their peers to abuse alcohol or cocaine. Teens who abort experience increased rates of depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, alcohol dependence, illicit drug dependence, nicotine dependence and cannabis use
The negative impact of abortion on girls also can come in form of pain, infertility, risk and death. Teens, compared to adult women, report more severe pain during the abortion procedure. Compared to older women, teens are up to twice as likely to experience dangerous cervical lacerations, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and endometritis, which increases risk of hysterectomy, ectopic pregnancy, and other serious complications. Abortion of a first pregnancy increases the risk of breast cancer by 30 to 50 percent. If a pregnancy lasting more than eight weeks was terminated when a girl was younger than 18 years, the risk increased 600 percent. Approximately one-third of abortions among teens are late-term abortions, which are riskier and are associated with more problems with subsequent pregnancies.
Teenage abortion in girls affects the relationships they have with their parents. Compared to older abortion patients, teens that have abortions are more likely to have severe nightmares. These teens also score higher on measurements of antisocial traits, paranoia, psychotic delusions and drug abuse and have more problems later regarding sexuality and parenting. After an abortion, teens are likely to become pregnant again within the next four years. Teenage girls who have aborted a baby are four times more likely to have a repeat abortion.
Teenage abortion has led many young girls to their early graves. Therefore the best approach to curbing this in our society is to encourage young girls resist indulging in premarital sex by all means and strive to abstain from sex until marriage for with this, one will not have any reason to be scared of unplanned pregnancy not to talk of opting for an abortion in the first place.