Page 28 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 18

Leadership

and 19.8% of Americans felt that
their relationship ended as a result
of the abortion procedure.

And so, in the vast majority of
cases, it appears that abortion does
not improve a woman’s relationship
with her partner. Instead, Ameri-
can women are around twenty to
twenty-five times more likely to say
that abortion harmed or ended their
relationships than that abortion im-
proved their relationships. Whether
or not these relationships were likely
to end anyway, abortion was a nega-
after a partner’s abortion. Post-abor- tionship’s conclusion and does not tive and destructive influence on the
tive men are almost twice as likely change whether or not the relation- couple.
to report feelings of jealousy, and ship will eventually end.
reports show a near 400% increase Relationships with Parents
in arguments over drugs. Nevertheless, other studies have Little research has been done on the
shown that even in committed impact of abortion on a woman’s
Both men and women are also likely relationships, abortions are associ- relationship with her existing family.
to report intimate partner violence ated with more frequent breakups. Therefore, it is difficult to draw
after abortion. Among married couples, abortion conclusions.
massively increases the chance of

In addition, difficulties tend to divorce. Nevertheless, there is some infor-
persist even after moving on to new mation to speculate upon. At least
relationships. With the beginning of Another study on American and some girls who obtain abortions
a new relationship, the injuries from Russian women found that many do so out of fear that continuing
abortion don’t go away. Women women blame abortion for damag- their pregnancy might damage their
remain at increased risk of inter- ing their relationships. Only 2% of relationship with their parents. Some
personal problems and are more Russian women and 1% of Ameri- girls are told outright even that they
likely to feel that their quality of life can women reported that abortion will face ostracism and abandon-
would improve if their relationships improved their relationships with ment if they do not abort:
ended. their partners. By contrast, 6.8%
of Russian women and 26.7% of My mom said if I was going to have
Breakups and Divorce American women reported relation- the baby I couldn’t stay at the house
Having had an abortion significantly ship problems. 7.8% of Russians
increases the likelihood of a break-
up, usually directly after the proce-
dure. However, it is more difficult
to tell whether abortions are the
cause of the breakdown, or merely a
symptom of a relationship that was
weak to begin with.

We might assume that these re-
lationships were only temporary
to begin with, and that abortion
is nothing more than a trigger for
the breakup. This may well be true.
Some research has suggested that
abortion merely hastens a rela-
Source: International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research

28 | we tell the true afrikan story