Sadness is not an inevitable result of having a . Some women are so massively relieved that they don't have to proceed with an unwanted pregnancy that they appear to get over the procedure quite quickly and easily. I personally know two or three women who have terminated their and not apparently suffered any great angst as a result.
But as a psychotherapist, I frequently see women who are NOT coping well after having an abortion. Sometimes, they turn up ready to talk about the termination. More commonly, they come along and complain that they are having a hard time struggling with unaccountably miserable feelings in general. It's only later that it emerges there was a termination in their recent or more distant past. In fact, over the years, I've noticed that a surprisingly large proportion of women who come for therapy have - and as they begin to talk about it they become very emotional and express feelings of great sorrow and confusion. Quite frequently, such women are astonished that having an abortion has affected them so badly. Many of them say that they still believe they were right to halt the pregnancy and quite a number of them say that they have never had any moral qualms about termination. One of my clients went through a period of feeling very angry. She told me that she had always subscribed to the view that it was 'a woman's right to choose' and that women should be in charge of their own bodies. But she felt that the women of the '70s who had blazed the '' had failed to tell the next generation that abortion can leave such a legacy of misery and upset. So, if you're having trouble coming to terms with an abortion, please let me assure you that you're not unusual - even if it happened many years ago. | 
