New Study Finds Abortion Risks Higher Than Expected

Toronto, CA -- Abortion complications are seriously underreported, leaving women who undergo abortion largely unaware of the range of physical and psychological risks they face, according to a new study by a Canadian bioethics institute.

Breast cancer, pelvic infection, infertility, life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, and subsequent premature births - with higher rates of children born with cerebral palsy - were found to be associated with abortion in a comprehensive review of the world medical literature. Abortion complications were not limited to physical health. While abortion is often regarded as a cure for the depression and stress of a crisis pregnancy, the study found that women are more likely to commit suicide after abortion than after giving birth to a child.

Current abortion rates of 114,000 in Canada and 1.4 million in the U.S. underscore the magnitude of this potential public health issue.

"In the absence of this knowledge, how can a woman give her informed consent to an abortion?" asks Ian Gentles, history professor at York University in Toronto, and one of the authors of the study entitled Women's Health after Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence, published by the deVeber Institute, a nonprofit bioethics and social research group based in Toronto. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Emory University professor of humanities and women's studies, calls the findings "compelling", and says the study "makes overwhelmingly clear [that] women who seek abortions in the United States and Canada are not even told of the risks they are running."

The study calls for a more accountable system of risk assessment where research data accurately reflect the true risks of abortion to their future health and fertility.

An extensive review of the world medical literature reveals abortion is associated with:

A woman's risk of suicide is up to 6 times higher after abortion than after giving birth to a child, according to three large worldwide studies.

Gissler M et al. Suicides after pregnancy in Finland 1987-94: register linkage study. British Medical Journal 1996 Dec. 7;313(7070):1431-4.

27 worldwide studies, including 13 U.S. studies, show the risk caused by the unprotected internal estrogen exposure a woman receives after an abortion. A young woman who aborts her first pregnancy nearly doubles her lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.

Daling JR et al. Risk of breast cancer among young women: relationship to induced abortion. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1994 Nov(2);86(21):1584-92.

Pain, bleeding, infection, perforated uterus, and occasional death occur at rates higher than usually reported. True rates are often underestimated by inadequate hospital diagnostic coding.

Heisterberg L, Kringelbach M. Early complications after induced first-trimester abortion. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandanavica,1987;66(3):201-4.

P> Subsequent infertility, life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, and premature delivery of subsequent children - which increases the risk of cerebral palsy 38 times in the earliest premature babies.

Escobar GJ et al. Outcome among surviving very low birthweight infants: a meta-analysis. Archives of Disease in Childhood 1991;66:204-211.

To order the study from the deVeber Institute visit the website: http://deveber.org/publications2.html#launch

The Pro-Life Infonet is a daily compilation of pro-life news and information. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe" to: infonet-request@prolifeinfo.org. Infonet is sponsored by Women and Children First (http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.org). For more pro-life info visit http://www.prolifeinfo.org and for questions or additional information email ertelt@prolifeinfo.org

Amen! Here are a couple of interesting articles from Pro-Life Infonet:

Subject: Feminists for Life President Draws Mixed Crowd at Berkeley Rally

Source: The Daily Californian; April 22, 2002

Berkeley, CA -- UC Berkeley students gathered on Sproul Plaza Friday afternoon to debate the highly controversial issue of abortion, as a leader of the pro-life movement stirred both shouts of support and criticism from the crowd. Organized by Berkeley Students for Life, the rally featured Feminists for Life President Serrin Foster and inspired heated discussion among students and opposing groups.

Foster championed the need for an increase in services for pregnant women and more supportive counseling, explaining that the American social structure is apathetic to young pregnant women.

If the social structure, which currently does not provide enough emotional support to women, were "holistically changed," less women would have abortions, Foster said.

"Abortion is a reflection that we have failed women in America," she said. "Every woman in America deserves better than an abortion."

Some students from the National Organization for Women and other abortion supporters reacted passionately to Foster's suggestions and engaged in debate with Foster and members of the pro-life student group.

A number of students decried that being "pro-choice" is not equivalent to being pro-abortion, but rather supporting a women's right to make decisions about her own body.

"There is a lot that goes into pregnancy," said UC Berkeley freshman Amanda Matteis. "I don't think anyone should tell anyone what they can (or can't) do with their body." Matteis pointed out that unwanted pregnancies frequently occur, sometimes as a result of failed contraception or date rape, and said women need to have options in these unfortunate situations.

Part of Feminists for Life's position is derived from the idea that the pro-life movement follows the spirit of the early women's rights movement. Some of the most well known women's rights leaders, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Mary Wollstonecraft, were pro-life.

The legalization of abortion goes against the doctrine of feminism, Foster said. It allows more men to abandon their wives or girlfriends, because with the legalization of abortion, they can say, "It's your problem."

But Walter Rader, a UC Berkeley student and member of the National Organization of Women disagreed with Foster, pointing to a different solution to the problem of men deserting the women they impregnate. "I don't think that criminalizing abortion is the answer," he said. "We need to make men responsible." Enforcing the payment of child support from biological fathers is a step in the right direction, Rader added.

While pro-life and abortion supporters remained firmly resolute in their beliefs, students from both ends of the spectrum agreed that UC Berkeley needs to improve its support structure for pregnant women.

Day care services, better counseling, improved housing options and maternity insurance should be more available to college women, Foster said.

"I completely agree we need more options for women, and the services that Foster talked about are necessary," Rader said.

Despite the lone consensus among opposing viewpoints, some said the event illustrated the limited exchange of ideas at the university.

"On the Berkeley campus, we advocate free speech," said Berkeley Students for Life Vice President Elizabeth Maier. "But often times, we are only willing to listen to one side of it."

Feminists for Life is a nonpartisan organization that opposes all forms of abortion and is also against assisted suicide, capital punishment and the exploitation of women and children.

You can help women make positive, life-affirming choices when confronting an unexpected pregnancy. Please provide a link on your web site to Pregnancy Centers Online at http://www.pregnancycenters.org

Subject: Grecian Abortion Rate Has Left 150K Couples Unable to Have Children

Source: Thessaloniki; April 22, 2002

Thessaloniki, Greece -- The first position in abortions, comparatively speaking, both in relation to European countries and to the US, is held by Greece. The large number of abortions, which take place both before and during a marriage, and which can cause serious complications are the main reason for the high percentage of under-fertility in Greece.

According to specialists, abortions are responsible for a 40% decrease in a woman's fertility. It is estimated that 150,000 couples in Greece cannot have children, because they have at least one abortion in their past.

More than 250,000 abortions take place every year in Greece, of which 40,000 are on underage girls younger that 16. Also, a third of them are performed on married women who would avoid them if they could afford a larger family.

This information was announced by Gynecology Professor of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Ioannis Bodis, speaking at the 2nd day of the 17th Northern Greece Medical Conference, organized by the Thessaloniki Medical Company.

In the 1980-1999 period, stressed Mr. Bodis, Greece exhibited a decrease of 41% in fertility, twice as much (in percentage) as in the rest of Europe, while the US showed an increase in the fertility factor of 14%.

I can see B4Ranch's side of things and I can see your side of things. However, this notion that women are unaware that the fetus is a human being doesn't wash with me. I believe it would be more truthful to say they know it is (if it is not a living, growing, human being, what need is there to get rid of it?), yet, they are simply desperate (for whatever reason) to get rid of it. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that a fetus is alive at the moment of conception until birth. Just consider how our society has such an Orwellian view of a baby; a woman has a miscarriage and people are sympathetic and mourn her loss, while a woman has an abortion and that is not considered killing a human being. When a woman becomes pregnant (and decides not to kill the child), she begins thinking of all the preparations she must go through to be ready for the baby. She also goes to the doctor throughout the pregnancy. Perhaps they bought the argument that the baby is not a human because they wanted to buy into it at the time. Later, the weight of consequences came crashing down. Only, it is too late for the poor baby.

There are times when I feel as B4Ranch, and you make some good points. I would just have to say that I would feel his way when it comes to the women who live their whole lives never regretting their infanticides and brag about what a wonderful thing it was in killing the child. They say that asking for forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do; giving forgiveness is also hard.

At least find out what you are talking about before you give us your reasoned and well thought out debate!

American Cancer Society

Ask the Expert

Eugenia E. Calle, PhD; Director of Analytic Epidemiology with the American Cancer Society

Q: Can having an abortion cause or contribute to breast cancer?

Dr. Calle: The short answer to the question is: no. Of course, as with any answer based on scientific studies, there are nuances that need to be explained in order to give a complete answer.

Induced abortion (probably what most people consider "abortion," in that a woman chooses to end a pregnancy) and spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage, both cause the interruption of hormones which has been hypothesized to increase ones’ risk of developing breast cancer. Stillborn births, in which the fetus dies after five months gestation while still in the uterus, may cause hormonal fluctuations in the mother that are abnormal when compared to a normal, full-term pregnancy. All of these situations have been studied as to what effect they may have on the woman’s risk of developing breast cancer later in life. There is no suggestion of a link between breast cancer and miscarriage or stillbirths. Until recently, the research has not been quite so clear with induced abortions and breast cancer.

Prior to 1973, induced abortions were illegal in the United States, with the exception of some states. Therefore, when researchers inquire about a woman’s reproductive past, women may be unwilling to disclose the fact that they have had an illegal abortion. Even after abortion was legalized, it is still a very personal, private matter that many women are hesitant to disclose. In fact, studies have shown that healthy women significantly underreport their histories of induced abortions. In contrast, women with breast cancer are more likely to accurately report their reproductive histories because they are literally searching their memories for anything that may have contributed to their disease.

The likelihood that women who have breast cancer will give a more complete account of their abortions than women who do not have breast cancer is called "recall bias" and it can seriously undermine the accuracy of study results. Most early studies of abortion and breast cancer employed a study design that is very prone to recall bias. In such studies, women with and without breast cancer were asked to report past abortions. The frequency of abortions in women with breast cancer and the disease-free controls was compared. It is likely that the small increases in breast cancer risk observed in many of these studies were not authentic findings due to recall bias.

A study design that is less prone to bias is a prospective study, in which a population of women who are cancer-free are asked about their past abortions and then followed for the occurrence of new cancer. In this type of study, there is no opportunity for the disease process itself to influence one’s memory of past abortions or willingness to report past abortions.

Some prospective studies have solved the problem of recall bias by using innovative ways to document induced abortions. A recent study used birth certificates of children born to women with breast cancer to count those women who had had induced abortions (the number of previous pregnancies and their outcomes were listed on these birth certificates). This study found no increase in breast cancer risk in women whose abortion was eventually followed by a live birth.

The largest, and probably the most reliable, study of this topic was conducted recently in Denmark. In that study, all Danish women born between 1935 and 1978 (1.5 million women) were linked with The National Registry of Induced Abortions and with the Danish Cancer Registry. So, all of the information about their abortions and their breast cancer that came from registries was very complete and was not influenced by recall bias. After adjusting for known breast cancer risk factors, the researchers found that induced abortion(s) had no overall effect on the risk of breast cancer. The size of this study and the manner in which it was conducted provides substantial evidence that induced abortion does not affect a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.

There are other, smaller studies pointing to the fact that abortion does not cause, nor contribute to breast cancer.

At the present time, the scientific evidence does not support a causal association between induced abortion and breast cancer.

Source

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