MATERNAL VICTIMS

Abortion's Maternal Victims
More Evidence Finds Negative Effects on Women

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, FEB. 11, 2006 (Zenit.org  <http://www.zenit.org > ).- New studies confirm that women suffer serious  side effects after aborting. The first victim of abortion is the unborn  child. And for years some women's groups and pro-life activists have  drawn attention to the negative effects on the women involved.  

Recent research on the psychological impact of abortion shows that it  raises the risk of mental health problems, the Sydney Morning Herald  reported Jan. 3. A New Zealand study, carried out by David Fergusson of  the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, was described  by the newspaper as "the most detailed long-term study to date into the  divisive question."  

The findings were based on a study of 1,265 children, tracked since  birth in the 1970s. Of these, 41% of the women become pregnant by age 25  and 14.6% had sought an abortion, for a total of 90 pregnancies that  were terminated. The study was published in the Journal of Child  Psychiatry and Psychology.  

By the age of 25, 42% of those who had aborted had also experienced  major depression -- a full 35% higher than those who had chosen to  continue a pregnancy. The risk of anxiety disorders rose by a similar  degree. And women who had at least one abortion were twice as likely to  drink alcohol at dangerous levels compared with those who had not  terminated their pregnancies. Those who aborted were three times as  likely to be dependent on illicit drugs.  

Fergusson said his research was motivated by a desire to improve the  level of scientific knowledge in an area where there is little evidence.  He described himself as "an atheist, a rationalist and pro-choice."  

The findings contradict the results of another study, published in the  British Medical Journal last Oct. 28. In their paper entitled  "Depression and Unwanted First Pregnancy: Longitudinal Cohort Study,"  Sarah Schmiege and Nancy Felipe Russo argued: "Terminating compared with  delivering an unwanted first pregnancy was not directly related to risk  of clinically significant depression."  

Schmiege and Russo, from the University of Colorado and Arizona State  University, respectively, based their conclusions on a study of 1,247  women in the United States.  

Child abuse  

Their conclusions were challenged, however, by Julia Millington,  political director of the United Kingdom organization ProLife Alliance.  Millington noted that a number of other studies published in scientific  journals had found evidence of problems stemming from abortion. She  cited, for example, research carried out in Canada and published in 2003  in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.  

Just a few days after the British Medical Journal published the Schmiege  and Russo study, the medical journal Acta Pediatrica published the  results of research that showed women who have abortions are more likely  to physically abuse their children than women who have not had  abortions.  

Priscilla Coleman, a professor at Bowling Green State University,  carried out the study on a group of 581 low-income Baltimore women, the  Washington Times reported Nov. 3. Compared with mothers with no history  of induced abortion, those who had aborted had a 144% greater risk of  physically abusing their children.  

Coleman noted that "a good number of women who have abortions"  experience problems of bereavement and guilt, feelings that can cause  anger. She also observed that women who lost children due to natural  causes may experience some of the same psychological effects as  post-abortive mothers, but the effects usually are not so long-lasting.  

Then, on Dec. 12, the British newspaper Telegraph reported on a  Norwegian study that also found mental distress and guilt among women  who underwent abortions. A study carried out by the University of Oslo,  and published in the journal BMC Medicine, looked at a group of 40 women  who had suffered a miscarriage and 80 women who had an abortion.  Researchers questioned the women 10 days, six months, two years and five  years after the event.  

Women who had a miscarriage suffered more mental distress up to six  months after losing their baby. But the women who had an abortion  experienced more mental distress at the two- and five-year intervals.  

The negative effects of abortion are not limited to mental distress. A  French study of 2,837 births found that women who previously had an  abortion faced a higher risk of giving birth prematurely, the Telegraph  newspaper reported May 15.  

Mothers who had previously had an abortion were 1.7 times more likely to  give birth to a baby at less than 28 weeks' gestation. Many babies born  this early die soon after birth, and a large number who survive suffer  serious disability, the article noted.  

Little information  

Further data came from a report prepared by the South Dakota Task Force  to Study Abortion, submitted to the state's governor and Legislature in  December. Committees in both the House and Senate of the state heard  testimony from a number of women who had undergone abortions. According  to the report, they "testified how they became depressed and were  haunted by suicidal ideation."  

Almost 2,000 women who have had abortions provided statements detailing  their experiences. Many women reported that they were pressured into  having an abortion, often by the father of their child, but by others as  well. As well, many of them testified or reported to post-abortion  counselors that if they had been given accurate information, they would  not have submitted to the abortion.  

Evidence given also revealed deficiencies in the way abortions are  carried out. Data provided by the South Dakota Department of Health  revealed that in 2003, the latest statistics available, there were 819  abortions performed in the state. In 814 out of 819 procedures, the only  information given to the pregnant mother about the unborn child was  simply a gestational age. In 813 cases out of the 819, this was done by  means of a recorded statement and the women had no way of asking the  physician any questions.  

According to the procedures described by witnesses from a Planned  Parenthood clinic, the abortion doctor sees the pregnant mother for the  first time in the procedure room. And this is only after the consent  form has been signed and the woman has made her commitment to undergo  the abortion.  

Lack of support  

Another useful study on abortion, published last November, is "Women and  Abortion: An Evidence Based Review," by Selena Ewing. The paper was  published by the Women's Forum Australia. Ewing, a research officer at  Southern Cross Bioethics Institute, Adelaide, reviewed and summarized a  wide range of research on abortion.  

She found that many abortions occur due to a lack of support for  pregnant women. Financial concerns are a major motivator for abortion,  as many women believe that continuing with a pregnancy will jeopardize  their plans for work and study. Women have concerns about becoming  single mothers, suggesting, Ewing observes, a lack of support from men  in many cases, and a lack of community support for single motherhood.  The report also found that abortion is strongly associated with domestic  violence and abuse of women.  

Given these factors, Ewing argues that talking about abortion being  caused by "unintended" or "unwanted" pregnancies is the wrong way to  approach matters. Studies have shown that pregnant women do not find  these terms to be adequate in describing their situation, Ewing  contends. Moreover, women's attitudes change over time during their  pregnancy.  

The study also contains numerous references to published research on the  physical and psychological effects of abortion. Regarding the latter,  Ewing states that 10% to 20% of women suffer from severe negative  psychological complications. Sobering evidence indeed.  ZE06021102