Abortion not seen linked with depression

Reuters ^ | Thurs., Dec. 4, 2008

[presidio9]

No high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome," and efforts to show it does occur appear to be politically motivated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reviewed 21 studies involving more than 150,000 women and found the high-quality studies showed no significant differences in long-term mental health between women who choose to abort a pregnancy and others.

"The best research does not support the existence of a 'post-abortion syndrome' similar to post-traumatic stress disorder," Dr. Robert Blum, who led the study published in the journal Contraception, said in a statement.

"Based on the best available evidence, emotional harm should not be a factor in abortion policy. If the goal is to help women, program and policy decisions should not distort science to advance political agendas," added Vignetta Charles, a researcher and doctoral student at Johns Hopkins who worked on the study.

An estimated 1.29 million American women get elective abortions each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 25 million women globally have legal abortions every year.

Abortion is a hot-button political issue, with many voters and members of the U.S. Congress as well as state lawmakers seeking to ban it.

"The U.S. Supreme Court, while noting that 'we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon,' cited adverse mental health outcomes for women as part of the rationale for limiting late term abortions," Blum's team wrote.

[xtinct]

Study is totally BS... my sis and her colleagues quit their jobs at a post-abortion clinic because of the state the teens and women were exhibiting sometimes weeks after the abortion.

[Gay State Conservative]

Of course these studies were conducted by the abortionists themselves.

[seastay]

“No high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress”

Thats because the study subject is dead after the abortion, duh, you cant document a dead persons feelings!

[anniegetyourgun]

Some of the same folks who turned homosexuality from a disorder into a “normal” state. Dumbing psychology and mental health down is so common these days. Everyone (and anything they do) has to be okay....

[Antoninus]

No high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome," and efforts to show it does occur appear to be politically motivated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

LOL. The Culture of Death wouldn't lie to us, would they?

Who funded this research? Planned Barrenhood?

[presidio9]

ping

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Abortion not linked to pregnancy or the death of fetuses - Reuters.

[icwhatudo]

Robert Blum
Professor
William H. Gates Sr. Chair, Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health

Dr. Blum’s research interests include adolescent sexuality...

Recently, he published a study in the American Journal of Public Health debunking the myths that race, income, and family structure can be major predictors of youth health risk behaviors.

For many years, Dr. Blum has served as a U.S. representative to the WHO. He has also served as a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization, World Bank, and UNICEF. He has been chair of the Alan Guttmacher Institute Board of Directors and was president of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. He also chaired the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Adolescent Health and Development from 2001 to 2005.

[icwhatudo]

The review comes days after three new studies from researchers across the globe that confirmed an abortion-mental health issue link exists and the studies are too recent to have been included in the JHU synopsis.

Last week, Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, and her colleagues published a study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research showing the link exists.

[08bil98z24]

I agree. Old High school/College friends/acquaintances or coworkers who either had an abortion or family member did had the same problems afterwards ... Horrible depression where they basically lost their will to live ...

One person I know of personally attempted suicide, followed by drinking/substance abuse/food disorders for a couple years ... Counseling and medication finally brought the situation under control, she has a family of 3 now ...

This study isn't worth a pitcher of warm spit.

[MrB]

Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health

might as well say "eugenicist"

This guy is not going to conduct a survey that shows abortion in anything but a glowing light.

"Reproductive Health" is a bigger pile of crap euphemism than "Fairness Doctrine" or "Social Justice".

[keats5]

I wonder how they define “high-quality” studies. Are Christian studies automatically excluded?

[MrB]

People involved in abortion, women more intensely, are affected by what they know is the intentional killing of the innocent.

They can choose the path of repentance or that of justification. You see it all the time.

That irrationally vehement “pro-choice” person that you talk to? Killed their own child - guaranteed.

[Antoninus]

Last week, Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, and her colleagues published a study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research showing the link exists.

Hey, wait a second. The clown who wrote this article may be on to something after all. There may be less evidence of depression among post-abort women because many of them just commit suicide instead.

Suicides after pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94: register linkage study

Here's the money quote from this article:

The mean annual suicide rate was 11.3 per 100 000. The suicide rate associated with birth was significantly lower (5.9) and the rates associated with miscarriage (18.1) and induced abortion (34.7) were significantly higher than in the population.

Must be one of them there "low-quality" studies.

[icwhatudo]

Well well well, it appears Dr. Robert Blum has a different opinion when a crappy sample size gives results that he finds important. From a previous study on teen oral sex:

"Dr. Robert Blum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study, said that although the survey had a small sample size, it still is interesting, according to the AP/Chronicle. "Adults are sitting there yelling at each other about abstinence, condoms, oral contraception and abortion, and kids have found their own path," Blum said, adding, "That's the most important issue that underlies these data: Adults are more clueless than we would like to admit."

[Vision]

In their wildest most perverted dreams.

[polymuser]

.

Abortion not seen linked with depression.

It's only linked with cold-blooded murder. No issues there.

God help us.

.

[Texas Federalist]

I don’t trust any study done by a guy who wears black turtlenecks.

[GVnana]

Ahem, excuse me, but. Who says psychiatry understands anything about depression?