A new study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that women who underwent an abortion experienced an 81% increased risk of mental health problems. The study also found that almost 10% of all women's mental health problems are directly linked to abortion.
Conducted by Priscilla K. Coleman, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA, the study was based on an analysis of 22 separate studies and 36 measures of effect, that involved a total of 877,181 participants of whom 163,831 had experienced an abortion. The study took into account pre-existing mental health problems prior to the abortion.
"In order to avoid any allegations of bias," Dr. Coleman explained, "very stringent inclusion criteria were employed. This means every strong study was included and weaker studies were excluded.
"Specifically, among the rules for inclusion were sample size of 100 or more participants, use of a comparison group, and employment of controls for variables that may confound the effects such as demographics, exposure to violence, prior history of mental health problems, etc."
This makes Dr. Coleman's study the most comprehensive of its kind to date.
"Given the methodological limitations of recently published qualitative reviews of abortion and mental health, a quantitative synthesis was deemed necessary to represent more accurately the published literature and to provide clarity to clinicians" Dr. Coleman stated in the report.
She said her research was focused on offering "the largest quantitative estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion available in the world literature." This, she said, would give health care practitioners "an accurate synopsis of the best available evidence in order to provide women with valid information in order to make informed health care decisions."
The research revealed that abortion was associated with a 34% increased risk for anxiety disorders; 37% greater risk of depression; 110% greater risk of alcohol abuse and 220% greater risk of marijuana use/abuse. Abortion was also linked with a 155% greater risk of attempting to commit suicide.
"The strongest subgroup estimates of increased risk occurred when abortion was compared with term pregnancy and when the outcomes pertained to substance use and suicidal behavior," Dr. Coleman observed.
"Calling into question the conclusions from traditional reviews," the report concluded, "the results revealed a moderate to highly increased risk of mental health problems after abortion. Consistent with the tenets of evidence-based medicine, this information should inform the delivery of abortion services."
Dr. Mary L. Davenport, president of the American Association of ProLife Obstetricians and Gynecologists and medical director of Nigeria's Magnificat Maternal Health Project, said the study, "sheds important light on the mental health of women," and exposes the "egregious cover-up of abortion complications" that are an aspect of "the abortion distortion."
"This review, which is larger than any study to date, contradicts the recent and biased and less systematic review by the American Psychological Association, which fails to find a relationship between mental health problems and abortion," Dr. Davenport wrote in the American Thinker.
"The new meta-analysis also contradicts the stance of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which has been silent on the mental health impact of abortion in its official publications despite overwhelming evidence over the last two decades of abortion's adverse effects."
"By so powerfully linking abortion to mental health problems, the Coleman study helps us comprehend the magnitude of the damage done to entire nations by reckless, permissive abortion policies," Dr. Davenport concluded.
LINKS
- An abstract of the study titled “Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009” with links to the full text is available on the British Journal of Psychiatry website here.
- Source: LIfe House and LIfesitenews : http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/largest-ever-study-finds-abortion-increases-risk-of-severe-mental-health-pr
- American Association of ProLife Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Category | Abortion : World
Published By | Lifesitenews LifeSite
Comments on this post:
Comments(16)
Ger M on Sep 5, 2011 10:38am
Rightly so, abortion is an act that no=one talks about and everyone always regrets, so in my own experience I've found it hard to carry around in the past and hard to talk about - it's a bit of a taboo isn't it?
Therese on Sep 5, 2011 1:22pm
Sorry to encroach on your space but I think you have a duty to be honest about your reasons for opposing abortion. It's not to protect mothers. There is no scientific evidence to show a causal relationship between mental ill health and abortion. The meta analysis Coleman conducted was mostly of her own work, and she is known for using questionable methods for drawing far-reaching conclusions about the correlation between abortion and mental ill-health. There's plenty to suggest a connection between mental ill health and the stigma enshrined in the implication that a woman is a murderer for choosing not to follow through with a pregnancy. Isn't your concern for the unborn significant enough reason to oppose abortion, without having to resort to deceiving your supporters in this way?
Emma on Sep 5, 2011 1:57pm
That's a bit of a sweeping allegation there Therese. I work with YD and am very friendly with a post-abortive mother who is also a member. I know just how distressed and upset she is and none of it is because anyone has called her a 'murderer' (as if anyone would!) its because she was lied to and deceived by the abortion industry and now she is grieving for her baby.
Colm on Sep 5, 2011 1:58pm
Who says Coleman is known for using questionable methods? Is this the finding of her peers in scientific review or some internet ramblings? evidence please Therese.
Lolivos on Sep 5, 2011 2:06pm
I would also love to hear or see the articles which oppose Dr. Coleman's questionable methodology. I do not mean this in a confrontational manner, I am just curious to see where you are receiving your information.
Therese on Sep 5, 2011 5:06pm
Here's a link to the studies included, she is the principal researcher in 6 of the 16, and this doesn't include those where she may have been a co-investigator:http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/suppl/2011/08/11/199.3.180.DC1/bjp_199_ds180.pdf
Colm- the latter: the most comprehensive review of this was done by the American Psychological Society. They reviewed and evaluated available peer reviewed literature and have found almost all of it to have major methodological flaws. 8 studies of Coleman's are included in the review: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/amp-64-9-863.pdf. It's quite long and wordy but if you look through the conclusions there's some interesting stuff.
Generally, literature points to the fact that abortion in itself is not a traumatic experience, that psychological reactions to abortion are shaped by the social context, that often the reasons women are compelled to abortion are more accurate predictors of mental ill-health than abortion itself (education/socio-economic status).
Emma I'm sorry to hear about your friend's trauma. I hope she recovers, I've had friends go through the same thing. I'm surprised to hear you balk at the idea that anyone would imply that your friend is a murderer. Abortion = murder is all over YD's material. Perhaps you have managed to make a disconnect between that and the implication that people who have abortions = murderers. Most wouldn't.
Anonymous on Sep 5, 2011 11:39pm
It is a tragedy that some would do anything to save or have life and some can actually choose not too...I always think that I was blessed with my life and blessed with giving life three times. It simply doesn't make sense that we are allowed to terminate a life in all states, a life that is innocent and can bring love and joy. Even the death penalty is not allowed in all states, as humans is it right for us to decide who lives and dies? A true question...When you have experienced the joy and love that new life brings even under tough circumstances it is so hard to imagine having to be in a situation to make that decision. If we are accountable for our actions there is no backdoor out, we learn to live with the choices we make and learn from them...whether you choose life or death you live with your choice...termination doesn't delete that fact that a life existed within you it just doesn't allow the life to exist outside of you...personally I will leave that job to the Creator of life.
Maria on Sep 6, 2011 5:17pm
Therese, women who have abortions are victims. They are often frightened, alone and feel they have no choice. On top of that they are manipulated by pro abortion agencies who profit from every abortion they refer. So while abortion is an act of murder, women who are subjected to abortion are not ,as you suggest , murderers. However those doctors who perform abortions are murderers,those who assist and counsel for abortion are accsesories.
Maria on Sep 6, 2011 6:13pm
Further to my comment above I would love to see a legal framework in place where women are excused from any crime but all personnel asscociated with the abortion would be guilty of a crime and prosecuted accordingly with the women called as witnesses for the prosecution. And by the way, by what gratuitous arrogance do you state that pro lifers have no concern for women. You have no right to judge anyones motivations particularly when you don't know them. It is primarily pro life people who deal with the aftermath of abortion, helping broken women to rebuild their lives after suck an unspeakable horror has happened to them. And their is NO general literature that says abortion is an untraumatic experience at least none that is unbiased and methododicologicaly flawed. the American Psychological Society is notoriously pro abortion.
Emma on Sep 7, 2011 8:12pm
I don't think your criticism stands up Therese. Are you seriously saying that because she was a researcher in some of the studies under review, her work is discredited. That's nonsense and clearly the experts who peer review the British Journal of Psychiatry agree. You said her methods were questionable and then produce no evidence, that's slander.
Emma on Sep 7, 2011 8:14pm
And I've been a YD member for years and no-one has ever called a woman a murderer for having an abortion. Saying abortion is murder is not putting the blame on the mother. clearly the murderer is the doctor.
Therese on Sep 8, 2011 6:04pm
I appreciate people taking time to respond . You could just as well ignore it, given that this is a pro-life space, so thanks.
Emma the evidence is in my first post. A statistically significant percentage if not a majority of the studies she promoted as being 'valid' above others and worthy of inclusion in her meta analysis were her own and her colleagues. She excluded a number of valid studies (analysis also linked in first post) from her meta analysis that would have compromised her agenda to associate abortion causally with mental ill health. She is essentially peer reviewing herself and others who agree with her thesis and saying she's great! The BJP and other peer reviewed journals will publish articles from a broad variety of sources, including those with a very clear agenda, in order to inform debate around issues and around research methods.
Maria & Emma: it is a myth that all women who have abortions are victims. A tiny percentile of women who have abortions are coerced or forced into it. The idea that women don't choose abortion but are victims removes the agency of the millions who've chosen to have abortions because going through a pregnancy and/or having a child was not the right decision for them at the time. As pro-lifers I can imagine it's hard to understand the mindset of women who do this but it doesn't erase their existence from anywhere but your own realm of understanding. Women who choose to abort with full knowledge of the range of options, the abortion process and the potential consequences, and who do not regret it afterwards, are very common and research would suggest that they are the majority. In my experience of friends and acquaintances, this is true too. I expect if I was very anti-abortion I'd be less likely to be aware of all those women I know who've had abortions and didn't regret it.
Maria: under your proposed legal framework, women who voluntarily take medical abortion pills are murderers, and women who freely choose to have surgical abortions are accomplices to murder. Do you agree with that? By the same logic, vulnerable women who take a hit out on someone are not to blame for their death, just the person who was hired to kill.
Do yous understand how people infer that YD are calling women murderers by this kind of logic?
Ps: I've looked, but can't find any evidence of the following:
1) The APA is notoriously pro-abortion
2) Irish charities who provide 3 option counselling have an economic interest in telling women about abortion options in UK/Europe
Maria on Sep 8, 2011 8:45pm
Therese, most women who have abortions are exploited by agencies who have a vested financial interestt in ensuring the woman have the abortion. Therefore they are Not given full information as to the development of their baby, the methods of abortion the dangers of abortion(up to and incuding death) not giving women other options.That makes women victims thats a fact NOT a myth. As a registered Nurse with a backround in research and a thorough knowledge of the research process i can assure you there is no research that claims women who are satisfied with abortion is free from bias.Common sense tells us that no mother can harm her own child and not be affected by it..It is the very essenence of our humanity to feel guilty at harming another. It is is magnified tenfold when it is a mother harming her own baby. What we can say in a nutshell is that we can all use research to back up our views and we can all critique each others research and point out methodicalogical flaws and biases but we have on our side that which you don't, have common sence
What don't you understand about my legal framework. NO woman would be prosecuted. They may be called as witnesses for the prosecution but only doctors nurses and counselers would be prosecuted. And your analogy is laughable, any one who hires a hit man to take someone out does so in a cold and calculated manner. A woman who has an abortion is often at her wits end lonely, scared and desparate and can see no way out and abortion providers are not going to tell her other wise.
And as for saying you have looked for evidence on the APA etc. well you support killing babies, a lie aint gonna choke ya!
Kevin on Sep 10, 2011 12:18pm
First off i'd like to state that i am prolife.However to claim Maria that all women suffer trauma after an abortion is not true. I've been at abortion debates in Ireland where i've heard a number of women who've had abortions say they did not regret it or suffered any effects afterwards. If a women herself volunteers to get an abortion i take Therese's point that doesn't that make her an accessory to murder? And if not, why not? Many women are not forced into having abortions, they make that decision themselves. If we truly believed abortion was murder wouldn't we then forcibly try to stop women from boarding planes and going to England to avail of a termination?
I would like to state for the record that abortion is the taking of a human life, and it should not become legal in Ireland, just in case i get a response remarking that somehow i'm not pro-life, by making the comments i just have.
Maria on Sep 10, 2011 6:25pm
No Kevin We would Issue extradition warrants against the doctors who performed the abortions (which is what should have happened in the X case) .This is my third time stating this. Women who have abortions are often at their wits end scared alone ect. (Or so the pro aborts have been telling us for years - have they been lying?) On top of that they are referred to abortion providers by abortion referral agencies who have a financial incentive to do so. So they are not given full impartial information. So while that is not coercion in the sense that a gun is put to ones head it certainly does not qualify as full informed consent.
As for women saying that they are not effected by the abortion surely you know that there is a world of difference between what is says and what a person feels. Besides the sequelae of such things often only become apparent much later.
Finally while I accept that you are pro life, you are, with all due respect, naive. The criminalisation of doctors etcand not women is the most tactical way of stopping abortion. Firstly it will prevent pro aborts claiming that we are out to victimize women. Secondly it will be a wedge law. You will find those willing to perform, assist or counsel for abortion will become scarce when the know that face a hefty jail sentence if even one of their patients decides at some point in the future to turn against them.
John on Sep 12, 2011 11:52am
I believe and hope that one day that abortion will be recognised for what it is; the ultimate act of violence by the taking of human life. I believe that history will not be kind to the history of abortion and that future generations of humanity will look back in time trying to understand how society could legislate for the death of the most vulnerable, how we, throughout the world, failed to understand the basic concept ot the first principle of human rights; the right to life. At the very least, all babies for whatever reason that are unwanted by their natural mother could be adopted. The fundamental idea of pro choice is a contradiction, for pro choice for the mother means no choice for the child. I have never seen a child at any pro choice gathering. As we have looked back at some of the terrible tragedies of history and tried to understand how such tragedies could occur, I believe such observations will be made about how our modern society could legalise the killing of the unborn and what type of society, what values we have that legalises and promotes the death of so many babies that the number of children aborted far exceeds all those killed in world wars and wars. Ashamedly, it is an undeniable fact that the value, the sanctity of life, of each individual life, born or unborn is not sacrosanct. We do not regard all life as precious. Our history and our current society show that violence is endemic, towards one another, and our selves. I hope one day that the energy and resources used to promote a culture of death and violence will one day be used to celebrate and embrace the beauty of life. Thank you for your time. We are all precious.