Grecian Abortion Rate Has Left 150K Couples Unable To Have Children

e3mil.com/Steven Ertelt ^ | 5/3/02

[nickcarraway]

Grecian Abortion Rate Has Left 150K Couples Unable To Have Children

5/3/02

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 than 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 periods, 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%.

[Mr. Lucky]

Is it me or is it a little bit difficult to feel sorry for a woman who voluntarily kills her first child, but then whines that she's inflicted an injury upon herself such that he can't have any subsequent children?

[FITZ]

It's not just you. I don't think a woman who would kill her children would make a very good mother anyhow.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

But how can this be when we are told that abortion has absolutely no consequences? (/sarcasm)

At least there should be fewer repeat offenders.

[jlogajan]

He doesn't seem to be able to explain the increase in fertility in the US since abortions should be decreasing the fertility here as well.

Sounds like junk science.

[Verginius Rufus]

I hope this figure is an overestimate. Since Greece has a population of 10.6 million, this would be the equivalent of at least 6.5 million abortions a year in the U.S. Does the Greek Orthodox Church voice opposition to abortions?

Some figures for the birth rate per 1,000 population in the area:
Greece 9.83
Albania 19.01
Turkey 18.31
Bulgaria 8.06
Romania 10.80
Macedonia 13.50
FR Yugoslavia 12.46
Bosnia 12.86
Croatia 12.82
Slovenia 9.32
Moldova 13.35
Ukraine 9.31

A few other countries for comparison:
U.S. 14.20
U.K. 11.54
Canada 11.21
Germany 9.16
Italy 9.05
Spain 9.26
Sweden 9.91.

Figures taken from the 2002 World Almanac.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The increase in fertility in the US is coming from the welfare and immigrant class. The welfare class gets MONEY for having babies and large families are frequently part of immigrant cultures. Both of these groups start having babies in their teens. They aren't the ones having abortions.

[July 4th]

I don't think a woman who would kill her children would make a very good mother anyhow.

That reminds me of a bumper sticker I see every once in a while: "If you can't trust me with a choice, how can you trust me with a child?"

I always think to myself: "If she thinks she has a choice, how can I trust her with a child?"

[babygene]

"More than 250,000 abortions take place every year in Greece"

Lets see, the U.S. has 1.3 million abortions a year with a population of 280 million. Greece with 250K abortions and 1/25 the population has a much higher rate.

As it is in the U.S., 1/3 of our Pregnancies are aborted...

[Lorianne]

With an abortion rate this high in a country not known as a bastion of freedom for women there has to be a lot of social/cultural pressure on women to abort. Sad.

No telling what the conditions and safeguards are at abortion clinics (or lack thereof). The permanent injury rate sounds very high. Perhaps this news will compel women to question the risks involved and they will refuse to abort.

Also, noticably absent from the article was any information on the rate of contraceptive use or availability. This would have been helpful information. Overall not enough information in this article.

[jlogajan]

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.

Any abortion is added to the non-fertile side of the equation. Only live births count toward "fertility."

Hence this quack is throwing different terms around indescriminately.

[Dajjal]

Aristotelian bump

[Dianna]

Any abortion is added to the non-fertile side of the equation. Only live births count toward "fertility."

I know quite a few couples with unexplained infertility (including secondary infertility). I'm sure had there been an abortion in these couple's pasts, the abortion would have been blamed.

It would be much clearer if he could have given definitive numbers of women scarred, maimed, etc and thus, unable to have children.

[Coleus]

Abortion causes scar tissue which makes it hard for a woman to become pregnant.