More than 95 percent of women who have had an abortion feel they made the right decision


That's according to a study by Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), a think tank at the University of California, San Francisco.(h/t ThinkProgress) The study examined hundreds of women from different backgrounds and experiences, including women who chose to have first-trimester and late-term abortions. Even three years after their procedures, participants felt overwhelmingly relieved, rather than regretful, ANSIRH reports.
ANSIRH had set out to examine claims that abortions cause women emotional harm, particularly in later procedures, and found such claims were based on inconclusive evidence. The think tank tested for women for "negative" emotions, such as regret, anger, guilt, or sadness, as compared with "positive" emotions, like relief and happiness. The predicted probability of a woman reporting that an abortion was the right decision was over 99 percent at all times during the three years of the study. "Women experienced decreasing emotional intensity over time and the overwhelming majority of women felt that termination was the right decision for them over three years," ANSIRH concluded.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders