Legal abortion: a painful necessity

This study was conducted to increase knowledge about the psychosocial backg round and current living conditions of Swedish women seeking abortion, alon g with their motives for abortion and their feelings towards pregnancy and abortion. Two hundred and eleven women answered a questionnaire when they c onsulted the gynaecologist for the first time. The study indicates that leg al abortion may be sought by women in many circumstances and is not confine d to those in special risk groups. For example, most women in the sample we re living in stable relationships with adequate finances. The motives behin d a decision to postpone or limit the number of children revealed a wish to have children with the right partner and at the right time in order to com bine good parenting with professional career. The study shows that prevaili ng expectations about lifestyle render abortion a necessity in family plann ing. One-third of the women had had a previous abortion(s) and 12% had beco me pregnant in a situation where they had felt pressured or threatened by t he man. Two-thirds of the women characterised their initial feelings toward s the pregnancy solely in painful words while nearly all the others reporte d contradictory feelings. Concerning feelings towards the coming abortion, more than half expressed both positive and painful feelings such as anxiety , relief, grief, guilt, anguish, emptiness and responsibility, while one-th ird expressed only painful feelings. However, almost 70% stated that nothin g could change their decision to have an abortion. Thus, this study highlig hts that contradictory feelings in relation to both pregnancy and the comin g abortion are common but are very seldom associated with doubts about the decision to have an abortion. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.