Men, Abortion and Suicide
At this point, there are only a few studies examining the impact of abortion on men. Counselors who work with men after abortion say that men have reported a large number of problems that they claim were a direct result of their abortion experience.
These include broken relationships; sexual dysfunction; substance abuse; feelings of self-hatred; risk-taking and suicidal behavior; increasing feelings of grief over time; feelings of helplessness, guilt, and depression; greater tendencies toward becoming angry and violent; and feelings connected to a sense of lost manhood.
As with women, the link between abortion and suicide may go unnoticed except in a few cases. A 1992 article in Linacre Quarterly reported on the case of an 18-year-old man who committed suicide three months after his father's death. According to the article, the young man was despondent over his girlfriend's abortion. He had told a friend that the baby had been conceived the day his father died and he planned to name the child after his father. In another case, a 44-year-old man killed himself in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion business in Overland Park, KS, in 2002. The Telegraph Observer newspaper reported that he had published an obituary for his aborted child in a community newspaper, reading:
Zachary Duncan Draper was beautiful as his mother, loved by God and others. My little baby boy didn't make it to his Daddy's arms. I never got to hold and kiss him, tell him stories or read him rhymes. I love you Zachary and look forward to seeing you in heaven.
According to
LifeSiteNews.com, Mark Horsted, a 39-year-old man living in Hampshire,
committed suicide after his girlfriend told him she intended to abort their
child. He was found by the police after having hanged himself. According to
his sister, Mr. Horsted had disclosed some of his concerns to family
members. His sister Lesley said, “He confided about the troubles in their
relationship, and the last thing
being that she was aborting their child.”
There is certainly a great need for more research, counseling and support for men affected by abortion as well as for women. As Vicky Thorn of the National Office for Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing has pointed out, the movement to help men find healing after abortion is in it's infancy, as it was for women a few decades ago. But as more anecdotal evidence comes to light, this will help drive research and make others aware of the need for healing and help. ~~~ Learn more: Visit our men's page for links to organizations offering support and counseling for men after abortion.
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