Martha Shuping
Written by Fr. Paul Sullins
July 22, 2025
Reproduced with Permission
International Journal of Women's Health Care, an OPAST Journal
It is widely recognized that, in the words of an American Psychological Association (APA) review, "some women ... experience sadness, grief, and feelings of loss following termination of a pregnancy, and some experience clinically significant disorders, including depression and anxiety [1-3]." How many women do so, and for how long a time, are facts related to vigorously contested questions, such as whether the distress is related to the abortion itself, the pregnancy that prompted the abortion, or other factors; whether distress following an abortion is greater or less than distress following childbirth; and the role of pregnancy intention.
Today the prevalence and duration of post-abortion distress (PAD) is disputed and unclear. While generally agreeing on the presence of PAD shortly after the abortion, study results diverge from there, with some finding that by six months to five years following the abortion PAD declined to parity with non-aborting women, on the one hand, and others that PAD persisted and even increased over similar time periods, on the other hand [4-10]. While the extent and causes are debated, almost all assessments of post-abortion psychological risk have discovered that some women experience emotional distress, even strong emotional distress, following an abortion.
Comment by Martha Shuping:
From: Martha Shuping
Date: September 16, 2025 at 23:40:39 JST
To: Martha Shuping
Subject: Fwd: Just published: "Persistent Emotional Distress after Abortion in the United States"
Hi, Fr. Jerry. Attached is an excellent newly published study from Fr. Paul Sullins who is a brilliant researcher who is affiliated with both Catholic University of America and the Ruth Institute. This study can certainly be posted and be made available any way you wish because it was published by an "open access" journal which allows it to shared freely. He summarizes his findings in the email below, and then the actual article is attached which can be posted or circulated by email etc. In the event that you have any questions about the study, Fr. Sullins email address is below and I'm sure he would be happy to answer questions. --Martha Shuping
Comment by Fr. Paul Sullins:
From: Paul Sullins
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 6:23x202FAM
Subject: Just published: "Persistent Emotional Distress after Abortion in the United States"
To: Donald Paul Sullins
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to relate that the study "Persistent Emotional Distress after Abortion in the United States" (copy attached) was published yesterday in the International Journal of Women's Health Care, an OPAST Journal. Thanks to generous donors, it is available open access to the public, with no fee or firewall.
This study
- --reports on a population representative survey of 226 post-abortive women at completed fertility (ages 40-45).
- --directly rebuts the claim of the Turnaway Study that all or most emotional distress women experience after abortion is transient and resolves in five years.
- --confirms continued symptoms of PTSS (post-traumatic stress syndrome) for some women decades after the abortion.
- --estimates that in the United States about 14 million women experience post-abortion distress, 7.5 million of them severely so.
- --challenges the factual basis of "therapeutic abortion," i.e., the claim that abortion typically improves the mental health of women with problem pregnancies.
This research was made possible by support from the Ruth Institute.
My best wishes and blessing for you and all you do,
Paul Sullins
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"Do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it with good."
Pope Francis, The Church of Mercy (Romans 12:21)
The Rev. Donald Paul Sullins, MDiv., PhD.
Senior Research Associate, Ruth Institute
Research Professor of Sociology, The Catholic University of America
301.277.0938 (fax: 1.206.600.4296)
CV: http://faculty.cua.edu/sullins
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View my research on my SSRN Author page:
http://ssrn.com/author=2097328
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