PRO-LIFE-LINES for Friday-Saturday-Sunday, July 28-30, 2000
Women's Mental Health Declines After Abortion While Childbirth Helps
SPRINGFIELD, IL, ELLIOT INSTITUTE, July 26, 2000
Women who undergo abortions are at greater risk for
mental health problems in subsequent years, according to a new study
presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society
(APS) held this June in Miami Beach, Florida.
The study looked at California women who received state funded medical
care and who either had an abortion or gave birth in 1989. Researchers
examined the women's medical records for up to six years afterwards and
found that women who had undergone abortions had significantly higher
mental health claims than women who had given birth. Women who had
abortions were more than twice as likely to have two to nine treatments
for mental health as women who carried to term.
According to the authors, Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a psychology professor
at the University of the South and Dr. David Reardon, director of the
Elliot Institute, "the data presented in this report suggest that when
compared to birth, abortion is associated with a significantly greater
risk for psychological disturbance among low income women."
Reardon said that the study avoided many problems that have plagued other
post-abortion studies in the past, such as small sample sizes and a
limited time frame. "Most other studies have only followed women for a
few months at most," Reardon said. "However, the few long-term studies
that have been done shows that many women's problems don't start cropping
up until at least a year or so after the abortion, often when they reach
the expected due date of the child or the anniversary of the abortion
itself. By examining a lar ger period of time, this study was able to get
a broader look at the association between abortion and subsequent mental
health problems."
Yet another new study that presented at the APS conference by researchers
from the University at Albany in New York found that teens who had
children were as well or better adjusted than teens who did not have
children. Compared to their non-parenting peers, the teen moms in the
study had fewer mental disorders, reported less stress, were less likely
than their peers to engage in denial as a coping strategy, were less
dependent on social support and reported greater satisfaction with the
support they did receive.
"These two studies clearly contradict the popular notion that abortion
benefits women in general and teens in particular," said Reardon. "Giving
birth to a child is a naturally maturing experience. By contrast,
abortion increases the risk of subsequent psychological problems,
including a six fold higher risk of substance abuse as reported in one of
our previous studies."
Citations:
Coleman, P. K., & Reardon, D. (June, 2000). "State-funded abortions vs.
deliveries: A comparison of subsequent mental health claims over six
years." Poster presented at the American Psychological Society, 12th
Annual Convention, Miami, FL.
Hanna, D. R., Lowe K. A., Leslie F. H. (June, 2000) "Pregnancy, coping
strategies and stress: Are teenage mothers really more at-risk?" Poster
presented at the American Psychological Society, 12th Annual Convention,
Miami, FL.
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