There are many research papers on abortion, which mainly focus on its implications regarding women involved in the process. In contrast, the research literature on abortion dealing with men involved in the process is quite limited. In Australia, there is no standard national database that records abortions, and legislation differs between states and territories. Because of these limitations, it is difficult to obtain an estimate of abortions performed nationally. However, according to information released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS; 2015), 83,210 known women aged 20 to 29 have had an abortion. This would place the national abortion rate at 2 per 1,000 women or 2% between ages 15 and 44 (typical childbearing years). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayIn every pregnancy, at least one man is involved and therefore there are at least 83,210 men in Australia who have at some point been affected by abortion. This is a significant number, although small relative to the overall population, and illustrates the need for more research into men's mental health in response to abortion-related grief - a common reaction to and during abortion. It should also be noted that the number of male and female abortion victims is likely underestimated, due to the limitations mentioned above, and that the number of abortions in Australia is believed to be higher than those recorded in Germany and in the United States. The Netherlands. Although research on men and abortion is limited, a few studies have nevertheless been identified. One of the first known studies of men and abortion was conducted by Gordon and Kilpatrick (1977). Researchers undertook a number of group counseling sessions at an abortion clinic specifically for men accompanying their partners. The study noted that most men hid their emotions from their partners in order to be more supportive. The study also found that men felt anxious, guilty, regretful and confused. Throughout the group counseling session, the researchers stated that among the men who participated, denial, projection, intellectualization, and withdrawal were observed. According to the study, these projections were considered defense mechanisms. Confusion and denial of authorship were noted in another study by Rothstein (1978). Rothstein interviewed men (N=66) who had accompanied their partners to the abortion clinic using open-ended questions. Rothstein said their research demonstrated that men felt torn between wanting to be a supportive partner and wanting to have a baby and become a father. Patterson (1982) conducted a survey at an abortion clinic and found that 77% of men surveyed agreed. that the most effective way to support their partners undergoing abortion was to hide their emotions. These men said they were unable to convince their partners to keep the child, suggesting that women have the upper hand when it comes to the decision to abort. By far the largest study conducted on men and abortion was that of Shostak and McLouth (1984). . The study involved 1,000 men from 30 abortion clinics across the United States in an initial survey and a follow-up survey of 75 of the initial male participants. The survey aimed to measure men's thoughts regarding the unborn child whohad been aborted. Less than a third said they had no thoughts about abortion, while 9% said they had frequent thoughts. Only 11% opposed their partner's decision while the rest suppressed their emotions. If Shostak and McLouth's (1984) study accurately reflects the male experience in the United States, its results could be extrapolated to Australia which has a similar cultural context. Coyle (1997) used forgiveness therapy (N=10) on men who felt that their partner had harmed them by having an abortion. Coyle noted emotions such as high levels of anxiety, anger, and grief before therapy began, as well as a significant reduction in these after treatment compared to those in the control group. After three months of follow-up, she still found a significant positive effect in the treatment group. In addition to emotions such as anger, anxiety, grief, helplessness, and relationship problems, another consistent theme was role confusion. This latter problem was linked to the idea that they felt they had been denied paternity. Most male participants also admitted, as in the other two studies, that they hid their true emotions about it. Taking a slightly different approach and examining the effects of teenage pregnancy on adulthood, Buchanan and Robbins (1990) investigated and found that men whose partner had an abortion as a teenager had higher distress scores. higher than men who were teenage fathers. Coleman and Nelson (1998) also stated that 51% of male college students with abortion experiences they surveyed (N = 23) reported feeling regret. Researchers noted that men are likely more stressed after an abortion because they have had few opportunities to express their opinions. Lauzon et al. (2000) conducted a study with two groups of participants (N=?). The control group consisted of couples who had not undergone an abortion; while the test group consisted of couples who had an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. After the abortion, 17% of men said they thought the abortion had a negative impact on their relationship with their partner, 30% said they would have liked to have had access to counseling, and 21% of men who had been present during the abortion After the procedure (70% of male participants in total), 21% described it as a traumatic experience. The study showed that first trimester abortions can be distressing for both partners. Kero and Lalos (2004) also followed a similar approach to Lauzon, but focusing on men. They distributed pre-abortion surveys to 75 men whose partners had requested an abortion. The survey covered topics such as psychosocial history, living conditions, relationship problems with partner, type of contraception used, reason for abortion, previous abortion records and how the decision to abort was made. Participants said abortion would bring relief and freedom from responsibility, but they also reported feeling guilty. A follow-up study was carried out 4 months after the abortion, during which the authors interviewed 26 of the men. 16 of the men felt positive while the rest still had persistent negative thoughts. Holmes (2004), however, expressed a different opinion regarding the conclusion reached by Kero and Lalos (2004): they believed that the men interviewed did not feel..