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For Immediate
Release
New Study
Affirms Link Between Abortion
and Subsequent Mental Health Problems
Increase in Suicidal
Thoughts, Substance Use and Other Problems After Abortion
Springfield, IL (May 10, 2010) –
A new study has found that women
are more likely to experience substance abuse, suicidal thoughts and other
problems after abortion, affirming the results of previous studies finding a
link between abortion and mental health problems.
The study, published in the
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, examined a nationally representative sample
of more than 3,000 women in the United States.
The researchers found that, after
controlling for age, marital status, race, education, household income and any
violence, women in the study who underwent an abortion had a 98 percent
increased risk for any mental health disorders compared to women who did not
have an abortion.
Women who had abortions also had:
-
59 percent increased risk for
suicidal thoughts
-
61 percent increased risk for
mood disorders
-
61 percent increased risk for
social anxiety disorders
-
261 percent increased risk for alcohol abuse
-
280 percent increased risk for
any substance use disorder
Approximately 6 percent of
suicidal ideation cases among women nationwide and 25 percent of cases of drug
use could be related to abortion, the researchers found.1
The study affirms findings from
earlier studies showing that women are more likely to suffer emotional injury
after undergoing abortion. For example, a 2005
New Zealand study found that, even after controlling for existing mental health
problems, women who aborted were more likely to later experience depression,
anxiety disorders, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.2
And a
study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research in 2008 found
that mental disorders among women who had abortions were 17 percent higher than
among women who did not have abortions. When researchers looked at specific
disorders, the increased rate among women who had abortions ranged from 44
percent higher for panic attacks and 167 percent higher for bipolar disorder.3
Abortion and Violence
The new study affirms that mental health problems
associated with abortion cannot be solely explained by an exposure to other
forms of violence. The earlier
2008 study
also
found
that abortion was more likely to cause mental health problems among women than
was a history of other traumas such as childhood sexual abuse, rape, physical
violence or neglect.
Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, who has worked on more than a dozen
studies on mental health issues after abortion, said that further research is
also needed to look at the other side of the equation: whether having an
abortion is likely to increase a women's risk of suffering violence or
abuse.
He expressed concern that the study
published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry made no distinction
between exposure to violence that occurred before the abortion and
exposure which occurred after the abortion, noting that violence may actually be
an aftereffect of abortion.
"I believe this is a very
important distinction which should be investigated, as we have evidence from
surveys and interviews with women which indicate that abortion may increase a
woman's risk of experiencing violence in numerous ways," Reardon said. "In
short, controlling for exposure to violence which occurs after an abortion may
be taking out one of the effects of abortion rather than an independent factor."
Other studies
have found an increase in suicide, depression, substance
abuse, anxiety, sleep disorders, symptoms of post-traumatic stress and other
problems. This latest study adds more evidence to the need for meaningful help
and alternatives to abortion, as well as measures, such as that
recently passed in Nebraska,
that would hold abortion businesses liable for failing to screen for coercion
and other known factors that put women and teens at risk for mental health
disorders after abortion.
~~~
Educate others:
Download and share our
Recent Research Fact Sheet
highlighting studies on abortion's impact on
women.
Citations
1. Mota, NP et. al.,
"Associations Between Abortion, Mental Disorders and Suicidal Behavior in a
Nationally Representative Sample," The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
55(4): 239-246 (April 2010).
2.
Fergusson, DM et. al., "Abortion in
young women and subsequent mental health," Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry (2006) 47(1): 16-24.
3. Coleman, PK et. al., "Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance abuse
disorders: Isolating the effects of abortion in the national comorbidity
survey," Journal of Psychiatric Research (2008),
doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.10.009.
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