abortion trauma syndrome

A term first used in the early 1980s by Vincent Rue, a psychologist and trauma specialist for what he considered a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. The term was later used by pro-life advocates for the adverse emotional reactions that allegedly follow an abortion. It is not officially recognised as a condition a sui generis

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abortion trauma syndrome

Psychology '…a medical syndrome that does not exist.' ABS is a 'nonentity' presumed to have been created by 'pro-life'–anti-abortion activists, and alleged to occur in women who have undergone abortion, who allegedly suffer deleterious physical and emotional consequences after abortion. See Abortion.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.