Abortion study

Edmund Payne, Malkah T. Notman, Arthur Kravitz, Radcliffe College. Henry A. Murray Research Center

This study examines the psychological outcomes of therapeutic abortion during the period immediately preceding the U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating restrictive abortion laws. The sample was drawn from women requesting abortions at a large urban hospital in the northeast. The participants were interviewed by a psychiatrist before the abortion, 24 hours after the procedure, and at six weeks and six months postabortion. One hundred and two women participated in the study, 84 of whom participated in all four interviews. Background data available includes demographic information, marital history, data on the parents and spouse, and emotional and medical history. Extensive clinical interviews were conducted at each of the four sessions. These covered the following topics: history of contraception, conception, and pregnancy; reasons for seeking abortion; ambivalence; past medical...