Charles Hill is less than thrilled with Rep. Joe Pitts (R, PA)’s proposed House Resolution 4543: Post-Abortion Depression Research and Care Act.
There is strong anecdotal evidence that women who have abortions may experience feelings of loss, guilt and depression in connection with their abortion. H.R. 4543 provides $15 million to the National Institutes of Health to research the emotional impact of abortion on women. This bill also creates a $1.5 million grant program to fund the development of treatment programs for women who suffer from post-abortion depression.
Says Charles,
Of course, you wouldn’t need $15 million to assess the impact of abortion on fetuses, but no one worries about whether they’re depressed or not.
Certainly true.
My guess is that Pitts’ rationale (he’s a Republican from Pennsylvia, home of Rick Santorum and Planned Parenthood v. Casey) is to provide yet more evidence that abortion is a really bad choice in most cases. Aside from killing the kid, it also traumatizes the woman who kills her kid and later regrets it. Far from being a simple “choice” to quickly rid her of the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy so that she can get on with her life, it’s a decision that will be with her forever.
Now, why the taxpayers need to fund this research rather than religious groups, conservative think tanks, or interested scholars is another matter entirely.
