Life Issues Forum: Analysis of 22 Studies Confirms: Abortion Harms Women’s Mental Health HOME | OFFICES | STORE | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE | my USCCB Buscar / Search: Prayer and Worship Beliefs and Teachings PRINT | SHARE | CALENDAR | DIOCESAN LOCATOR | | Issues and Action Media Bible EN ESPAÑOL Strategic Plan USCCB > About Us > Pro Life Activities USCCB Mission LIFE ISSUES FORUM: ANALYSIS OF 22 STUDIES CONFIRMS: ABORTION HARMS WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH Leadership Pro Life Activities Who We Are Respect Life Program Post-Abortion Healing Abortion Assisted Suicide Conscience Protection Contraception Euthanasia Stem Cell Research IVF/Reproductive Technology January Roe Events Life Issues Forum Word of Life Prayers People of Life Contact USCCB Financial Reporting USCCB Employment About USCCB FOLLOW US TEXT SIZE ITEMS OF INTEREST Bishops and Dioceses USCCB Offices Catholic Giving Analysis of 22 Studies Confirms: Abortion Harms Women's Mental Health By Susan E. Wills SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 The largest, most definitive analysis of the mental health risks associated with abortion was published September 1 in the prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry. Conducted by Priscilla Coleman, PhD of Bowling Green State University, the meta-analysis examines twenty-two studies published between 1995 and 2009 involving 877,181 women, of whom 163,831 had abortions. Taking into account all the mental health problems studied—anxiety, depression, alcohol use/misuse, marijuana use and all suicidal behaviors—here is what this rigorous analysis found: ″Women who have had an abortion have an 81% higher risk of subsequent mental health problems compared to women who have not had an abortion. ″Women who aborted have a 138% higher risk of mental health problems compared to women who have given birth. ″Women who aborted have a 55% higher risk of mental health problems compared to women with an "unplanned" pregnancy who gave birth. ″Women with a history of abortion have higher rates of anxiety (34% higher), depression (37%), alcohol use/misuse (110%), marijuana use (230%), and suicidal behavior (155%), compared to those who have not had an abortion. Dr. Coleman notes that a 2010 study by Canadian researchers (Mota et al.), published after she completed her analysis of the twenty-two studies, arrived at "strikingly similar" conclusions regarding the increased risk of mental health problems associated with abortion. The staff, priests and counselors in Project Rachel, the Church's post-abortion ministry, are well aware of the mental health problems women experience following an abortion. The national Project Rachel Ministry website, which lists offices to call for confidential help, receives countless letters from women and men expressing profound anguish, sometimes for decades after an abortion. Thousands of tragic personal stories are posted in chat rooms and on message boards like those at www.afterabortion.com. . . . And yet a handful of "pro-choice" academics continue to churn out papers attempting to show that "the few" women who have mental health problems after abortion are those who had mental health problems before their abortion. They claim that having an abortion is better for one's mental health than giving birth to an "unplanned" (and therefore to their mind "unwanted") child. Dr. Coleman's meta-analysis disproves these contentions, weeding out weak and potentially biased studies by including only studies that (1) were published in a peerreviewed journal, (2) had at least 100 participants in the sample, (3) used a comparison group (e.g., women who had given birth, women who had not had an abortion), (4) measured one or more outcomes, such as depression, substance abuse or suicidal behavior and (5) controlled for other variables, such as prior history of mental health problems or exposure to violence. Health care professionals have a duty to advise patients of the benefits and risks of a procedure "in a manner that reflects the current scientific literature," so patients can make an informed choice. As former abortion clinic staff attest, and as undercover journalists in the U.S. and U.K. have discovered, counselors at abortion clinics conceal mental and physical health risks—as well as the fact that the procedure will violently end a child's life—in order to sell abortions. Thanks to Dr. Coleman, the current scientific literature now proves that the increased risks to mental health from abortion outweigh any imagined "benefit" to women. Women http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/life-issues-forum/life-issues-forum-11-09-02.cfm[12/01/2016 09:48:18] 2011 People of Life Awards Go To Doctor, Diocesan Leader, International Advocate Bi Lingual Respect Life Program Packet for 2011 12 Now Available USCCB Welcomes House Passage Of ‘No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act’ Preventive Services Backgrounder Suicide and Assisted Suicide: The Role of Depression see all 20 pages Life Issues Forum: Analysis of 22 Studies Confirms: Abortion Harms Women’s Mental Health considering abortion deserve to be told these facts—but they won't hear them once they're inside the clinic. It is up to us to get the word out. Susan Wills is Assistant Director for Education & Outreach, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Pro-life Activities. For more information on the Church's ministry to women and men after abortion, visit www.hopeafterabortion.org. ©2016 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Privacy Policy | Site Map | Contact Us pvm495 Anti-Trafficking Program Communications General Secretariat Migration Policy Canonical Affairs and Church Governance Cultural Diversity in the Church Government Relations National Collections Catholic Campaign for Human Development Divine Worship Human Resources National Religious Retirement Office Catholic Education Doctrine International Justice and Peace New American Bible Catholic News Service Domestic Social Development Justice, Peace & Human Development Pro-life Activities Child and Youth Protection Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Laity, Marriage, Family Life & Youth Religious Liberty Children and Migration Evangelization and Catechesis Media Relations Resettlement Services Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations General Counsel Migration and Refugee Services World Youth Day http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/life-issues-forum/life-issues-forum-11-09-02.cfm[12/01/2016 09:48:18]
