Study: Abortion has more negative parenting impact than pregnancy loss

Study: Abortion has more negative parenting impact than pregnancy loss | ProLife NZ: A new review of studies examining various types of prenatal loss and the effects on subsequent parenting has concluded that abortion may be “particularly damaging to the parenting process.”

The article, published in Current Women’s Health Reviews, looked at already published studies on miscarriage, induced abortion and adoption. The author, Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University, focused on psychological reactions to these various types of loss and discussed how they might affect a mother’s relationship with children born after the pregnancy loss.

PK Coleman, “The Psychological Pain of Perinatal Loss and Subsequent Parenting Risks: Could Induced Abortion Be More Problematic Than Other Forms of Loss,” Current Women’s Health Issues 5: 88-99, 2009.

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At the Center magazine's summer 2012 issue

More Than Food Stamps By Emily Chase

Divine Appointments By Elaine Ham

More Than Pregnancy Tests and Diapers By Amanda Naugle

Just Outside the Center Door By Sherry Camelleri

The Biology of the Abortion-Breast Cancer Link By Angela Lanfranchi, MD

The Legal Basics of the Pregnancy Resource Medical Clinic Model By Thomas A. Glessner, J.D. and Audrey Stout, R.N. R.D.M.S.

Are You a Contradiction? By Mark Hiehle

Wandering in a Fundraising Desert By Ron Haas

Marketing 101: Different Strokes for Different Folks By Jerry Thacker 

IVF in young women tied to breast cancer: study

REUTERS - Women who go through in vitro fertilization (IVF) early in life are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to those who dont undergo the treatment, according to an Australian study. But the findings, based on a study of more than 21,000 women and published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, cannot determine whether IVF contributed to the cancers or whether something else could explain the risk.

Roughly 1.7 percent of the 13,644 women who only used fertility drugs without IVF ended up developing breast cancer by the end of the study. That figure was about two percent for women who used fertility drugs and underwent IVF - a difference that researchers said wasnt statistically significant. When they divided the women into different age groups, though, that changed. Women who started taking fertility drugs around their 24th birthday and went through IVF had a 56 percent greater chance of eventually developing breast cancer compared to those in the same age group who only went through fertility treatments without IVF. But there was no increased risk for women who started fertility treatments when they were about 40 years old, regardless of whether they had IVF or not. 

A possible reason that younger women see an increased risk of breast cancer is that they are exposed to higher levels of circulating estrogen during their cycles of IVF treatment. The development of breast cancer is linked to estrogen exposure and the longer one is exposed, the greater the risk. In an IVF cycle there is a short, but significant elevation in circulating estrogen, and whether this is linked to the observations found in the study is not clear at this time.

Editor: I Googled "IVF and breast cancer" and there were 275 news items about this already within just over 24 hours. Meanwhile, the abortion/breast cancer link gets scant attention. [Corrected comment.]

Japanese Women’s Choice between Abortion and Adoption

Japanese Women’s Choice between Abortion and Adoption - The Japan Daily Press: We were told years ago that women in Japan don’t suffer after abortion. There is no taboo on abortion here, no “preaching” against it, no opposition to it, no clear belief system that condemns it. The conventional wisdom was that there was no real fallout from this all-too-common practice here. Of course, in America there was suffering because of the culture, so it was thought.

It is an interesting question. Why are so many Japanese women suffering from post-abortion stress? We have heard from women who had abortions decades ago, yet they can’t forget or forgive themselves and all those who pressured them to do it. They were most often pressured by parents, especially moms, who surely thought they were doing what was best for their daughter. But though all around them said abortion was the only way, they often can’t seem to move on.

Editor: This article was written by Cynthia Ruble of Life Hope Network in Nagoya, Japan.

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Hundreds of UK teens have had two abortions

Hundreds of teens have had two abortions: figures show - Telegraph: Pro-life campaigners said young women were being "let down in an appalling way" after it emerged three of the 38,269 teenagers who had a termination in 2010 had undergone the procedure at least seven times.

Get to know the special risks that teens face from abortion

Abortion Regrets

Abortion Regrets | Abort73.com: Personal testimonies from women (and men) who have gone through an abortion.

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Encouragement for those who wonder, "Have I repented enough?"

Charles Spurgeon: 

1. Repentance is never perfect in any man in this mortal state. 
2. Repentance is also a continual life-long act.
3. "Repentance" is a grace. Some people preach it as a condition of salvation. Condition of nonsense! There are no conditions of salvation. . . . If, then, God has given you the least repentance, if it be sincere repentance, praise him for it, and expect that repentance will grow deeper and deeper as you go further on.

Wantedness and coercion

"Key Factors in Understanding Women’s Mental Health After Abortion," by Martha Shuping, M.D., Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change Research Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 2, Fall 2011

Post-abortion suffering

A psychiatrist looks at the effects of abortion - downloadable brochure from FRC

New China Study

Prolife OBGYNS – AAPLOG – American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians & Gynecologists » New China Study: There are several take-home messages from this study:

1) This study adds to the rapidly accumulating world literature on abortion and mental health. Even in a culture wherein abortion is widespread and is mandated by the government after women give birth once, the magnitude of psychological risks are comparable to those identified in other parts of the world (e.g., Australia, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, US).

2) The 1st trimester of a later pregnancy may be the most difficult time for women, who have experienced an induced abortion, since the majority of abortions occur early in pregnancy.

3) The psychological experience of abortion is more likely to be associated with long-term psychological distress than spontaneous abortion.

Editor: I might add a few thoughts. One relates to the idea that in China, not only is abortion "widespread and mandated," it is not stigmatized by a religious or pro-life community. Another factor could be related to the horror of forced abortion. Imagine the anxiety that the one-child policy exerts on every pregnancy. Finally, the experience of abortion in China may be more horrific -- I don't know, but that could be a significant factor.

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The day I killed

LifeSiteNews: Abortion was my only option. My decision was solely based on selfishness. I didn’t want this baby. I couldn’t wait to get rid of the heaviness I felt just from carrying the awareness that a baby was growing inside of me.

A quick trip to Dallas ensued. I ducked like a coward when my boyfriend and I passed the picketers across from Planned Parenthood’s abortion center. I met conviction. Outside the clinic felt dark. Oppressive. Tormenting. It was excruciating. With cold sweats and heart racing, I could not wait to get inside. And relieved I was when we entered the welcoming area.

Oh, the deception! There was peace. Many were smiling. . . . It was there I killed. Was it a boy? Was it a girl? I don’t know. But this I do know – today, I love that child.

Chinese study finds link between previous abortion and depression among pregnant women

LifeSiteNews: The study found that pregnant women who had undergone an induced abortion of a previous pregnancy a year or more before their current pregnancy were 49% more likely to experience depression and 114% more likely to experience anxiety during their first trimester. If the abortion was more recent, the risk was 97% greater for anxiety in the first trimester, and 64% greater for depression during the second trimester. In comparison, the study found, women who had experienced a miscarriage did not appear to be at a greater risk for anxiety or depression than other pregnant women in the first and second trimester.

The researchers also cited a previous study which found that anxiety was particularly prevalent among post-abortive pregnant woman before the woman passed the gestational point at which the previous abortion had occurred.

Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, called this finding “disconcerting,” noting that “all the major body structures are formed during the 1st trimester and stress hormones may potentially harm the developing fetus.” In an analysis of the study, Coleman also noted that the findings were consistent with those of previous studies.

Dr. Priscilla Coleman Responds to Recent Media Attacks

Dr. Priscilla Coleman Responds to Recent Media Attacks | NRL News Today: "We responsibly addressed this error and the paper was never retracted by the journal. Interestingly the dozens of mainstream U.S. journalists who pounced on this situation and irresponsibly described the results as unreliable, invalid, debunked, etc., were absolutely silent when the meta-analysis was published last fall. This meta-analysis appeared in one of the most prestigious psychiatry journals in the world and the quantitative review incorporating data from 877,181 women offered the largest estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion in the world literature.

"A corrected error in a single study that reported associations between abortion and mental health is apparently more news worthy than a major meta-analysis."

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Abortion-mental illness link doesn't hold up, researchers find

Abortion-mental illness link doesn't hold up, researchers find | Fox News: A study purporting to find a link between abortions and mental illness does not hold up to scrutiny, according to a new report in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

The original study, conducted by Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University in Kentucky, has been a source of contention since its publication in 2009, when critics pointed out flaws in the statistical analysis. Those errors triggered a correction by Coleman and her colleagues, but outside researchers found other problems with the paper. Most importantly, they report in the February issue of the journal, the original researchers included mental health ailments not only after abortion, but all across the life span, making it impossible to know whether the psychological problems came before or after the procedure.

Dr. Coleman's response

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Hard cases: New facts, new answers

Unchoice: Women victimized by sexual assault have some important perspectives on the abortion issue. Studies show that most don't want abortion. Those who had abortions in such situations reported that it only increased their trauma. Those who didn't abort said they had no regrets about giving birth to their child. Download free booklet

Get to Know WECARE: World Expert Consortium for Abortion Research & Education

About Us | Wecare: WECARE brings together credentialed scientists with a research program on the physical, psychological, and/or relational effects of abortion on women and those closest to them to engage in international research collaboration, scientific information dissemination, professional education, and consultation.

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Doctors dispute study findings

LifeSiteNews: Pro-life doctors say that, because [the study on the relative safety of abortion and childbirth] fails to include the long-term adverse effects of abortions, the years-old claim that abortion’s mortality rate is lower misrepresents the overall effects of abortion on women versus bringing a child to term.

“[Abortion] is not safe when you look into the long term,” Dr. Mary Davenport, president of the American Association of Pro-Life OB/GYNs, told LifeSiteNews.com. “They were only talking about immediate death. If you do the math, there is a much higher rate of risk-taking behaviors,” including suicide attempts and substance abuse, said Davenport.

Microbiologist and bioethics commentator Gerard Nadal told LSN that such data fails to account for the physical damage often sustained by women during abortions, including damage to reproductive organs that has been strongly linked to subsequent pregnancy complications or even sterility. Meanwhile, he said, abortion’s link to increased risk of breast cancer, and childbirth’s protective effect against cancer, is ignored.

Another OB/GYN, Dr. Matt Phillips of CEC For Life, agreed, saying the study’s claim is “at least 20 years old” and based on skewed information. “You can make the numbers look any way you want to make them,” he said.

Silent No More releases song

Georgette Forney, President of Anglicans for Life. “Now, with Jamie’s song, we have our own anthem and what we hope is that women who are still suffering their regret in silence will hear the song and realize they are not alone.”

Finding life after abortion, part 1: the descent into hell

Finding life after abortion, part I: the descent into hell | LifeSiteNews.com: The night before the procedure Ma’May remembers feeling “overwhelmed with sorrow and deeply depressed.” She spent the night curled up in a ball crying inconsolably. She felt “alone and scared” and was “angry” that she had to make such a difficulty decision. She did not understand why she was so upset. If the procedure really was her choice and the best option, why did she feel so terrible?

Part 2

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Wantedness & Coercion: Key Factors in Understanding Women's Mental Health after Abortion

Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change: Prior to abortion, women must be evaluated to determine whether or not they are being pressured, coerced, or forced.

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