There are many research papers on abortion, which predominantly focus on its implications regarding the women involved in the process. In contrast, research papers on abortion that discuss the men involved in the process have been quite limited. In Australia there is no standard national database that records abortions and legislation differs between different states and territories. Due to these limitations, obtaining a national estimate of abortions performed is difficult, however according to information published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS; 2015) 83,210 known women aged 20–29 have had an abortion. This would bring the national abortion rate to 2 per 1,000 women or 2% in the age group 15 to 44 (typical fertility years). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Every pregnancy involves at least one man and so there are at least 83,210 men in Australia who have experienced a miscarriage at some point. This is a significant number, although small in proportion to the overall population, and illustrates the need for further research into men's mental health in response to miscarriage pain – a common reaction to and during the event. It should also be noted that this number of men and women who have undergone an abortion is probably an underestimate, due to the limitations mentioned above, and that the number of abortions in Australia would be higher than those recorded in Germany and the rest of the world. Netherlands. Although research relating to men and abortion is limited, some studies have been identified. One of the first known studies on men and abortion was conducted by Gordon and Kilpatrick (1977), the researchers undertook a series of group counseling sessions at an abortion clinic specifically for men who accompanied their partners. The study found that most men hid their emotions from their partner to be more supportive. The study also reported that the men felt anxious, guilty, regretful and confused. During the group counseling session, researchers had stated that denial, projection, intellectualization and withdrawal were observed among the men who participated. According to the study, these projections were seen as defense mechanisms. Confusion and denial of authorship were found 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 stated that their research showed that men felt torn between the desire to be a supportive partner and the desire 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 during abortion was to hide their emotions. These men said they were unable to convince their partners to keep the baby, suggesting that women have an advantage when it comes to the decision to have an abortion. By far, the largest study of 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 with 75 of the first male participants. The survey sought to gauge men's thoughts about the unborn child who had been aborted. Less than a third reported having had nonethoughts about abortion while 9% said they had frequent thoughts. Only 11% opposed their partner's decision while the rest repressed their emotions. If Shostak and McLouth's (1984) study reflects well the male experience in the United States, its findings could be extrapolated to Australia which has a similar cultural context. Coyle (1997) used forgiveness therapy (N = 10) on men who felt their partner had hurt them by having an abortion. Coyle noted emotions such as high levels of anxiety, anger and grief before starting therapy and a significant reduction in such emotions after treatment compared to those in the control group. At three months of follow-up he still found a significant positive effect in the treatment group. In addition to emotions such as anger, anxiety, grief, helplessness, and issues such as relationship problems, another constant theme was that of role confusion. This last problem was related to the idea that they felt that they had been denied fatherhood. Most male participants admitted, as in the other two studies, that they had hidden 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 who experienced a partner's abortion in adolescence had higher distress scores than men who were fathers in adolescence. Coleman and Nelson (1998) also stated that 51% of the male college students who had an abortion experience that they interviewed (N = 23) reported feeling remorse. The researchers commented that men likely experience more stress after abortion because they have had limited opportunities to express their opinion. Lauzon et al. (2000) conducted a study with two groups of participants (N=?). The control group consisted of couples who had not had an abortion; while the test group was made up of couples who had had an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. After the abortion, 17% of men said they believed the abortion had had a negative impact on their relationship with their partner, 30% said they would have preferred to receive psychological assistance, and 21% of men present during the abortion abortion After the procedure (70% of male participants overall), 21% described it as a traumatizing experience. The study showed that first-trimester abortions can be painful for both partners. Kero and Lalos (2004) also followed a similar approach to Lauzon but focused on men. They distributed pre-abortion surveys to 75 men whose partners had asked for an abortion. The survey covered issues regarding psychosocial history, living conditions, relationship problems with the partner, type of contraception used, reason for abortion, documentation of previous abortions, and how the decision to have an abortion was made. Participants said that abortion would bring relief and release from responsibility, but they also said they felt guilty. A follow-up study was conducted 4 months after the abortion, in which the authors interviewed 26 men. 16 men felt positive while the others still had persistent negative thoughts. Holmes (2004) however postulated a different opinion regarding the conclusion that Kero and Lalos (2004) had arrived at: they felt that the men interviewed were not comfortable being truly open about their experiences because they felt that their true beliefs, if expressed, would have been met with contempt by society at large. Therefore, they only responded in ways they believed their partner would approve/in ways.