Barry Law Review Volume 6, Issue 6 (2006), pp.22-38 22 The Impact of the right to procure an Abortion in the United States: An appraisal of mental health issues associated with the practiced and the law that protects it. By Eileen Weber 1 and C.C. Ajaelu 2 . Abstract Abortion has been a controversial issue in all cultures, races and civilizations. Even in the animal kingdom, the killing of the young by its mother is considered hideous and dreadful. But the reason why humans, known for its higher and more sophisticated intelligence, should legalize the practice of abortion rocks the mind with absolute puzzlement. The article tries to uncover some hidden tragedies associated with abortion, namely the mental health of women and families that engage in such practice. In America, Roe vs. Wade, which permits liberty under the Due Process Clause to eradicate unborn fetuses and avoid parental consent for teenagers, has been stretched to far and today the Courts make decisions concerning obstacles to abortion by the state and maintained that the right to privacy is intertwine with individual's right to his or her body, and therefore has the right to choose should and should not be accepted by the individual. The article tries to re-examine the right to choose and what it actually means to make a choice, as well as the part mental health plays in pre and post choice to commit abortion. Overall the article explores the damage abortion does to selfhood through mental health instability, and therefore challenges the legal arguments that permit the eradication of the unborn, with the belief that the continuation of the same will lead to the extinction of human characteristics. _________________________________________________ Keyword: abortion, Dehumanization, selfhood, mental health, Introduction Abortion can be seen as dehumanization. In dehumanization, one group of people believe another group to be so inferior to themselves that over time, the group considered to be inferior becomes less than human in the eyes of the first group, and therefore not entitled to moral considerations. While we can point to countries in the world where horrors such as ethnic cleansing have been practiced, we must also remain aware that man's inhumanities to man haven't always taken place on foreign shores. Throughout the history of the United States of America, certain groups of people were considered to be deprived of human qualities and viewed as less than human. As time progressed, they were treated accordingly. In today's world, many 1 Eileen Weber is a practicing lawyer in Florida and CEO, MHI International, Inc 2 CC.Ajaelu is a Catholic priest, clinical neuropsychologist, Researcher and clinical director with MHI International, Inc. Miami Florida