Post-abortion counselling

Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS) is defined as:

"A delayed or slow developing, prolonged and sometimes chronic grief syndrome." It encumbers a woman’s ability to process the fear, anger, sadness and guilt surrounding her abortion experience.

Agencies, institutions, organisations, or individuals involved in referring for, or performing abortions are inappropriate agencies to provide abortion or post abortion counselling. There are some aspects of PAS which professionals involved in the abortion industry are unable to deal with.

In South Australia Birthline has a 24 hour telephone counselling service on 08 8363 1444 and trained counsellors can listen, empathise and offer assistance.

It is normal to experience a sense of loss, emptiness and grief following an abortion. It is a tragic life experience, and the fact that the mother co-operated in the bringing about of this tragedy does not negate, but rather may add to the need to grieve. Sharing feelings with someone who can be trusted, such as a trained counsellor who specialises in this area, can help people – it may be the woman who had the abortion, her partner, her parents, her siblings, one of her children, the parents of her partner, who also lost a grandchild – to work through their feelings and come to terms with what has been and what now is.

Letting go of grief and guilt, forgiving self and others, and finally letting the baby go all require individual and separate decisions. It all takes time for the healing process to occur, and it requires a willingness to work through each stage.

Giving the baby a name, calculating its age, consciously recognising the child and letting feelings of love come to the surface are important parts of this healing.