Project Description
Post-Abortion Issues
Post-Abortion Syndrome
Professional counselors who have worked with women who have had abortions have recognized a cluster of reactions that fit the model of post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological dysfunction resulting from a traumatic experience which overwhelms a person’s normal healthy defense mechanisms. Some of the symptoms they have found to be typical are:
- Intense fear and anxiety
- Sense of helplessness
- Feeling of loss of control
- Emotional numbing
- Difficulty recalling event
- Guilt
- Pain
- Grief
- Depression
- Irritability
- Angry outbursts,
- Aggressive behavior
- Sleep difficulties
- Sexual dysfunction
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Anniversary reactions
- Withdrawal from relationships
- Avoidance of children
- Pessimism regarding future
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Suicidal thoughts
Abortion’s Effects:
Reproductive System
Physical Damage
Surgical abortion may harm a woman’s reproductive system, damaging her uterus or cervix, leading to future reproductive problems. Chemical abortions (using RU-486, etc.) are bloody, painful and dangerous, and the long term effects on the body are unknown.
Future Infertility
Women having abortions face more than a doubled risk of future sterility.
Later Ectopic Pregnancy
A study appearing in the American Journal of Public Health in 1998 found aborting women facing a 50% increased risk of having a subsequent ectopic or tubal pregnancy. The risk was nearly twice as high (90%) for women having two or more previous abortions.
Future Miscarriages
Decreased cervical resistance due to forced dilation may result in early cervical failure and the spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) of future pregnancies.
Future Prematurity
Premature birth is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality, and at least ten international studies show previous abortions significantly increase that risk.
Later Infant Disability
Preterm birth is associated with lower birthweight and higher rates of cerebral palsy, often leading to physical and mental disability.
Dr. Byron C. Calhoun, MD, FACOG, FACS, FASAM, MBA serves as Professor and Vice-Chair in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the West Virginia University-Charleston. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology with board certification in general Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the sub-specialty of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Dr. Calhoun has authored 82 peer-reviewed articles in the obstetric and gynecologic literature, presented over 100 scientific papers, participated in over 40 research projects, and published numerous articles on medical aspects of obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Calhoun is a 1979 Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He graduated from the University of Iowa Medical School with an MD in 1983. Dr. Calhoun completed his residency in OB/GYN at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1987 and finished a Fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University in 1989.
Abortion Links to:
Breast Cancer
Pregnancy & Normal Breast Development
In pregnancy, as estrogen levels elevate, immature milk glands, or lobules, begin to grow and differentiate, reaching maturity around 32 weeks. By birth, the lobules are fully formed and ready for milk production. A full term pregnancy is known to lower a woman’s long term risk of breast cancer.
Abortion Interrupts Breast Development
Abortions, which typically occur in the first or early second trimester, interrupt the process of breast development while estrogen is still surging, urging growth, but before full differentiation has taken place. Thus, the risk-lowering effect of full term pregnancy is lost. Even worse, lobules stuck in this growth stage are susceptible to replication defects, which may eventually manifest themselves as cancers.
Scientific Evidence of Abortion’s Impact
Thirteen out of 17 studies in the U.S. reported more breast cancer among women who chose abortion. A 1996 meta-analysis of all published reports on the incidence of induced abortion and breast cancer appearing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found, on average, a 30% increased risk.
Link to Other Cancers
Abortion has also been associated with higher rates of cervical and ovarian cancer.
Full documentation at nrlc.org
Angela Lanfranchi is an American breast cancer surgeon and pro-life activist. In 1999, she co-founded the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute with Joel Brind, John T. Bruchalski, and William L. Toffler. As of 2014, she is the president of the Institute. She is known for advocating for a link between abortion and breast cancer.
The Science, Studies and Sociology of the Abortion Breast Cancer Link by Angela Lanfranchi, M.D
Abortion’s Effects on:
Relationships
A Woman’s Partner
Nearly half of women in one study said abortion had “significantly altered” their relationship with their partner. Breakups are common, even among couples with previously stable relationships.
Her Parents
If a woman’s parents coerce her to abort, the parent-child relationship is likely to be damaged. If kept a secret, abortion can put distance between parent and child.
Her Other Children
Women who have abortions are more likely to abuse their other children. Not surprisingly, children of aborting women have higher rates of behavior problems.
Future Partners
Past abortions may be kept secret from husbands out of fear of judgement or rejection, though hesitancy to discuss the event creates distance. Women may become anxious or uncomfortable with sexual activity. Others become promiscuous.
Other Relationships
Women may become pessimistic about life in general and avoid people and situations that remind them of the abortion.
Dr. Priscilla K. Coleman is a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Her Ph.D. training was in Lifespan Developmental Psychology at West Virginia University, graduating in 1998.
A major concentration of Dr. Coleman’s research has been on the mental health effects of abortion with recent studies addressing the impact of abortion on interpersonal relationships (parenting and intimate partners). Her most recent publication was a meta-analysis of the literature published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. This study incorporates data from over 800,000 participants and is the largest study in the world on the mental health effects of abortion. Previous research focused on mother-child interaction, attachment, and the development of competency beliefs across the transition to parenting.