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Largest ever study finds abortion increases risk of severe mental health problems by 81%
LifeSiteNews ^ | 9/1/11 | Thaddeus Baklinski

Posted on 09/01/2011 4:08:38 PM PDT by wagglebee

LONDON, UK, September 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study published today 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.”

Commenting on the results of the study, Pro Life Campaign of Ireland spokesperson, Dr. Ruth Cullen said, “These findings are extremely disturbing and completely undermine pro-choice claims that abortion alleviates mental health problems. In fact, the study further proves that the opposite is the case.”

“These findings cannot be ignored,” Dr. Cullen stated. “They raise very serious issues for everyone regardless of which side they are one in the abortion debate. The best interests of women can only be served by an honest and dispassionate appraisal of the facts.”

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 today 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.

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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abortion; moralabsolutes; prolife
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To: RickB444

I’m sure he was a retread. Jumped in with both feet, knew his way around, knew who to try to aggravate, etc.


141 posted on 09/02/2011 4:37:21 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: trisham

Hope he’s having a great time, where ever he is!


142 posted on 09/02/2011 4:48:44 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: little jeremiah

Me too! :)


143 posted on 09/02/2011 4:55:10 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: TheOldLady

: )


144 posted on 09/02/2011 6:58:58 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: 10thAmendmentGuy; ROTB; wardaddy; Yehuda; Nachum
I suppose there is a moral case for allowing abortion for rape victims, just not one I agree with. Whether an innocent fetus not actually endangering the mother's life can legitimately be branded a "rodef", pursuer, allowing abortion is up to Rabbis. Jews are 2% of the population in the US. I don't see the point of bringing up Jew law here, but I'll accept that 10thAmendmentGuy supported the rape exception to a ban based on it.

The political argument for the rape exception makes sense. The vast majority of abortions have nothing to do with rape. The left uses the rape canard to protect all abortions. If we can save 1 million babies a year with a compromise, then it is worth it. This in no way precludes us trying to change the opinion of people especially involuntarily pregnant women.

PS. Back during the Partial-Birth abortion debates, I used to bring up the Talmud to embarrass Jewish leftists who support this vile form of feticide. The Talmudic ruling is taht if most of the baby is born, there can be no abortion, not even to save the life of the mother, as it is now a baby.

145 posted on 09/02/2011 7:55:16 PM PDT by rmlew ("Mosques are our barracks, minarets our bayonets, domes our helmets, the believers our soldiers.")
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To: RickB444

Yeah, I found your whining.


146 posted on 09/02/2011 8:09:18 PM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: philman_36

Just helping flush the crap out of the toilet.

Guess you’re graduating to stalker now. LOL. Tool.


147 posted on 09/02/2011 8:15:41 PM PDT by RickB444 (What one receives without working for, another must work for without receiving.)
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To: RickB444
Guess you’re graduating to stalker now.
BWAHAHAHA That's rich. It's called research. Something you don't seem to know much about as the following link illustrates.
Tool.
Really? You're dumber than a box of rocks and you wave it around for everybody to see!

#158
Yeah, I've been reading some of your replies and you like to accuse people of a lot of things without evidence.

148 posted on 09/02/2011 9:26:51 PM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Jim Robinson

Jim, I have been watching this and the usual suspects have been ganging up, like a big pack of rats, on the kid, trying real hard to get him zotted. I think that’s wrong and I ask you to reconsider. He’s young but he holds his opinions well and, in general, gave answers based on reason and logic, not emotion, unlike the pack that ganged up on him.


149 posted on 09/02/2011 9:59:54 PM PDT by dcwusmc (A FREE People have no sovereign save Almighty GOD!!! III OK We are EVERYWHERE)
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To: dcwusmc; Jim Robinson

Jim, I fully support your decision to zot the troll. The n00b was trolling threads, injecting his views that run contrary to your stated views. Countless FReepers tried to reason with him, to no avail. He deliberately provoked FReepers who are here to uphold the same values you prize. He wasn’t willing to learn. He wasn’t willing to stop proselytizing his views that run contrary to this site’s. He wasn’t willing to spend any time promoting any views that are in line with yours. He was here to disrupt and proselytize for the left.

I don’t know what his relationship is to one of the moderators. Possibly none at all. But he tainted the reputation of the moderators with his claim to be personally acquainted with them and under their protection. If he’s allowed to return a second time, after making such a claim, that would further damage the trust.


150 posted on 09/03/2011 6:34:53 AM PDT by BykrBayb (Somewhere, my flower is there. ~ Þ)
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To: BykrBayb; wagglebee; Jim Robinson

I’d also add to BB’s comments the fact that a moderator accused wagglbebee of trolling 10thAmendmentGuy; which was later pulled.


151 posted on 09/03/2011 7:17:45 AM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: dcwusmc; Jim Robinson; 10thAmendmentGuy
Jim this young man, 10thAmendmentGuy, was dishonest. And HE stalked posters.

I first ran into him on an Amy Winehouse thread. I left the thread because dcwusmc came on the thread and called me a hyena. Even when I left they made several posts to me which I ignored.

I went to a Sarah Palin thread where 10thAmendmentGuy showed up and posted to me. I warned him NOT to follow me around. He then requested to be added to To Sarah's list saying he "loved her".

I have checked his posting history and saw that he only posted about Palin one other time and the posts were actually about Bachmann.

This young man is dishonest. But the bottom line is that FR is pro-life and 10thAmendmentGuy supports abortion in certain cases.

152 posted on 09/03/2011 7:44:54 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (America! The wolves are here! What will you do?)
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To: DJ MacWoW

I would far rather have someone on my side 90-95% of the time than make him 100% enemy. But then that’s just me. I don’t expect perfection in my friends, as I know I am not perfect. I’m just forgiven.

Equally, shutting down 99% of something evil is a GOOD THING. We can always work on the last one percent later. Imagine if we could have saved ninety plus percent of those murdered babies over the years since RvW. Would you or would you not say that would have been a GOOD thing?

But your clique wants nothing less than immediate perfection. It won’t ever happen in this lifetime. BUT, once you get your foot in the door, you can start INCREASING your toe hold to a foothold to a handhold until, sooner or later you’re all the way there. That’s how the left got to where they are today and that’s the ONLY WAY, short of God’s immediate return, that you’re gonna get BACK. Killing off your own allies and those who WANT TO BE your allies is a dumb and stupid thing. But then, your type are pack animals, always tearing into your own would-be allies just to show your own “perfection.” You do your cause no good at all and only give ammunition to your enemies, so they can totally marginalize you as whack jobs. And they’re right, that’s the unfortunate part. Your position may be absolutely correct, but you’ll never get there from here while you’re bent on destroying those who would help you but aren’t as “pure” as you are.


153 posted on 09/03/2011 12:26:54 PM PDT by dcwusmc (A FREE People have no sovereign save Almighty GOD!!! III OK We are EVERYWHERE)
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To: little jeremiah

:)


154 posted on 09/03/2011 5:52:54 PM PDT by mojitojoe (WH says potus didnÂ’t feel the earthquake. No worries. Another is scheduled for November 2012)
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To: mojitojoe

Well well WELL well well.

A nasty gang of evil thugs, right. Tormenting the innocent.


155 posted on 09/03/2011 6:25:32 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: RickB444

You’re a real stand-up kinda guy aren’t you? Can’t be bothered to ping those you’re snitching on, can you? What a hero!


156 posted on 09/03/2011 6:54:09 PM PDT by dcwusmc (A FREE People have no sovereign save Almighty GOD!!! III OK We are EVERYWHERE)
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To: Jean S; mojitojoe

The real question is how are you between the sheets? LOL.

Are you not a moderator? Things just get stranger and stranger.Why do you post in two incarnations: as an admin mod and then as Jean S? LOL.

You are a better than the “four faces of Eve.”

Kinky and very entertaining.


157 posted on 09/09/2011 5:20:15 AM PDT by Candor7 (Obama fascist info..http://amawww.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html)
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