Emotional Impact on Providers Archives - Page 6 of 15

Association of Planned Parenthood physicians discusses the emotional effects of the D & E abortion procedure on doctors

A report presented at the 1977 annual meeting of the Association of Planned Parenthood physicians describes the negative psychological reactions doctors may have after performing D&E abortions [which were then new]:

“When performing a D&E abortion, the gynecologist is aware of being the active agent in the procedure. On the one hand, the doctor is sparing the patient the pain and emotional distress of the amnio abortion. On the other hand, he or she is the one who is crushing and dismembering the fetus in a D&E procedure, which can be emotionally disturbing… As the doctor tends to take responsibility and assume guilt for the procedure, she or he may have disturbing and recurrent ruminations or dreams. Doctors have found that these negative reactions decrease as they get used to the procedure, decrease if fewer D&E’s are done per session, and may depend on their feelings about the women’s reason for needing a late abortion… Because of these problems, it is important that participation in D&E abortions be entirely voluntary, and that doctors have a chance to talk over their feelings with understanding colleagues or counselors.”

“2^nd Trimester Abortion by Dilation and Extraction (D&E): Surgical Techniques and Psychological Reactions.”, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians in Atlanta, Georgia, 13 – 14. October 1977 by Drs. Sadja Goldsmith, Nancy B. Kaltrevider, and Alan J. Margolis

The paper goes on to explain a little more detail what the procedure is so traumatizing:

“When the amniotic fluid had drained, the placenta and fetus were removed: the fetus was extracted in small pieces to minimize cervical trauma. The fetal head was often the most difficult object to crush and remove because of its size and contour. The operator kept track of each portion of the fetal skeleton in order to be sure of complete evacuation. Finally, a blunt or sharp curette, and a 12 mm vacuum aspirator were used, which often yielded additional tissue fragments. The patient was then transferred to the recovery room, watched for about 2 hours, and sent home with a friend.”

See pictures of what a 20-week-old baby looks like after being subjected to this procedure (warning: graphic)

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New Zealand nurses do not want to assist doctors doing abortions

“It’s not an area of practice where many staff choose or are comfortable to work.”

Nurses have a particular difficulty with late-term abortions (usually described as abortions after 20 weeks or so)

“A lot of those nurses are quite happy to be involved in early abortions but with the increasing gestation they do find it difficult.”

Dr Sparrow said this was because of the greater development of the fetus, “rather than having a complete moral objection to abortion”.

Martin Johnson “More nurses opting out of abortion ops” NZ Herald Feb 4, 2009

Nurses in New Zealand have been refusing to participate in abortion procedures, particularly late term ones. Nurses participating in late-term abortions have to witness the extraction of fetal parts, including arms and legs, or tend to women who were delivering dead babies who have been injected with digoxin or another poison. It is not surprising that many of them are refusing to assist. Abortion has an emotional effect on providers as well as patients.

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Medical intern horrified by late-term abortion of twins

In an article profiling late-term abortionist Doctor William Rashbaum (now deceased) the writer said that late-term abortions are more dangerous that early ones, but that this is not why abortionists don’t like to perform them:

Technical difficulty, however, is not why many doctors don’t want to do second-trimester abortions. What troubles them is that as a pregnancy progresses, the fetus increasingly resembles a baby….

She goes on to say:

The procedure is gruesome, as anyone who has seen it, including Rashbaum, will attest. One of his former interns remembers watching Rashbaum do a D&E on well-developed twins one hot summer day. He intently leaned in closely and methodically pulled piece after piece of the fetuses out of the mother’s uterus, ignoring the attending staff’s whispers of horror — “It’s twins. It’s twins” — to each other. The intern reacted violently, running home, throwing up, and asking herself, “Is this right?

And then:

Rashbaum pisses people off with his cranky, despotic ways, but the other doctors are relieved he’s around to do a job they don’t want.”

REBECCA PALEY “Cruel to be kind: In the twilight of his career, a late-term-abortion doctor tells all” The Boston Phoenix Dec 2003

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Abortion Doctor Has Recurring Nightmares, Does not Stop

In an article profiling abortionist Dr. William Rashbaum (now deceased) who performed over 20,000 abortions in his career, it said:

“… although Rashbaum felt he was performing a necessary service, it weighed heavily on his conscience. He was troubled by a recurring dream of a fetus trying to hold onto the walls of a uterus by its tiny fingernails. Raised to believe that abortion was wrong, he reasons, “What kind of dreams do you think you are going to have?”

REBECCA PALEY “Cruel to be kind: In the twilight of his career, a late-term-abortion doctor tells all” The Boston Phoenix Dec 2003

Sadly, he never stopped performing abortions because of these dreams. He ignored his conscience. We must not.

fetus_84day_old — Only 84 days old. The doctor aborted thousands of babies like him

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New Zealand nurses refuse to help with abortions

Hospitals in New Zealand are having trouble finding nurses willing to help with late-term abortions.

15weekeco12 — 15 weeks – secondtrimester

One person in the article commented:

“[It is] an issue of nurses expressing an unwillingness to continue contributing to this particular service. It’s not an area of practice where many staff choose or are comfortable to work.”

Abortion Law Reform Association president Margaret Sparrow said staffing abortion services generally did not pose problems, although those for the second trimester were more difficult.

“A lot of those nurses are quite happy to be involved in early abortions but with the increasing gestation they do find it difficult.”

Dr Sparrow said this was because of the greater development of the fetus, “rather than having a complete moral objection to abortion”.

The board’s National Women’s Health Service, Kay Hyman, said the second trimester surgical abortion service was at “critical” risk.

Martin Johnston “More nurses opting out of abortion ops” NZ Herald Wednesday Feb 4, 2009

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Nurses have difficult work after saline/prostaglandin abortions

“The procedures for mid-trimester termination was either saline or prostaglandin injected [into the woman’s womb] to induce labor. The woman actually delivered (or aborted) on the ward, either in bed or in a bedpan. The nurse was left with all the difficult work- you could, actually say all the “dirty” work….[T]he nurse had to weigh the fetus, the nurse had to place the fetus in a bag and transport it to the mortuary, the nurse had to answer patients’ questions, sometimes distressing, about the size, appearance, sex, disposal of the fetus and whether it was still alive. The nurse had to deal with distressed patients and relatives….”

D. Krutli “Mid-Trimester abortion service within a public hospital” Women and Surgery: Conference Proceedings (Melbourne: Healthsharing Women, 1990) p 5

Today most secondtrimester abortions are done by D&E

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Abortionists have nightmares and “strong emotional reactions”

From a book on late term abortions:

“The two physicians who performed the D&E procedures…felt technically competent, but noted strong emotional reactions during or following the procedures, and occasional disquieting dreams.”

Second Trimester Abortion: Perspectives After a Decade of Experience (Berger, Brenner, Keith, eds, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1981), in the chapter “Psychological Impact on Patients and Staff,” p. 246.

In a D & E, performed mainly in the 2nd trimester, the baby is torn apart with forceps.

Here is a diagram of the procedure

In the picture of the D&E abortion at 16 weeks

It is easy to see why abortionists have nightmares!

Floor nurse must deal with “difficult” task

From one book that tells how to do 2nd trimester abortions:

“The floor nurse must deal with the expelled fetus; even nurses in favor of abortion find this a lonely and difficult task.”

This quote is about abortions in which the doctor injects poison into the amniotic fluid or the baby itself and waits for the woman to deliver her dead fetus. Often, the doctor is not present for the actual delivery. Sometimes the woman delivers alone, sometimes a nurse is present.

abortedbaby05 — 24-week-old aborted baby killed in this manner

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Clinic worker knows she doesn’t “help people”

From an abortion clinic worker, on LiveJournal:

“work is slowly eating my soul.

…..

i was doing math in my head driving home as usual. god, i make awful money for a job that actually sucks once you strip away all the pretentious “oh i HELP people” bullsh*t.”

You can’t access this page anymore, but it is quoted by JivinJeosephat

Perhaps after seeing babies like this daily:

She knows that her job is really killing people, not helping people.

I hope that this person quit and got some emotional healing

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