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BRITISH PSYCHOLOGISTS: ABORTIONS CAUSE WOMEN MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS. A leading group of psychologists and mental health professionals in England say that abortion causes women tremendous psychological and mental health problems. They are calling on the nation's doctor's group to revise its guidelines about what women considering an abortion are told.

They say that women need to be told of potential mental health risks like depression, suicide, and addictions to drugs or alcohol. Their call came in a group letter to the editor published 27Oct06 in the London Times. The letter marks the 39th anniversary of legalized abortion in Britain. Since the Abortion Act came into effect in 1967, more than 6 million abortions have been carried out in Britain, with levels now running at around 200,000 a year.

"Research published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in January has shown that even women without past mental health problems are at risk of psychological ill-effects after abortion," they say.

"Women who had had abortions had twice the level of mental health problems and three times the risk of major depressive illness as those who had given birth or never been pregnant...We suggest the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Royal College of Psychiatrists revise their guidance and that future abortion notifications clearly distinguish between physical and mental health grounds for abortion.”

The doctors pointed out that the American Psychological Association, while avoiding any official warning of the dangers to mental health caused by abortion, did withdraw an official statement denying a link between abortion and psychological damage, in response to the New Zealand study.

The Times reported that of the more than six million abortions performed in Britain since abortion was legalized in 1967, 95 percent were done on the grounds of the mental or physical health of the mother, or the welfare of existing children. The leading psychologists say that the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Psychiatrists should tell women of the mental health risks an abortion poses.

"Since women having abortions can no longer be said to have a low risk of suffering from psychiatric conditions such as depression, doctors have a duty to advise about long-term adverse psychological consequences of abortion," they write. The group of 15 senior obstetricians and psychiatrists includes some of the top people in the field in Britain. Andrew Sims [past president, Royal College of Psychiatrists] and Patricia Casey [prof, Psychiatry, University College, Dublin], signed the letter. Psychologists in London, Surrey, West Midlands, Hexham, and Hampshire added their names as well. Other health professionals who signed the letter include OBGYNs Robert Balfour, Tony Lewis, and Gordon Stirratt and two general practitioner doctors. Their call backs up other research showing abortion causing women mental health problems.

A January study by Dr. David Fergusson, a New Zealand researcher who backs abortion, found 42 percent of women who had abortions had experienced major depression within the last 4 years. That's almost double the rate of women who never became pregnant. According to the study, women who have abortions were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be addicted to illegal drugs. The risk of anxiety disorders also doubled.

His research follows a survey by professors at Bowling Green State University in 2004 who examined data on nearly 11,000 women between the ages of 15 and 34 who had experienced an unintended pregnancy. Their survey found that women who have abortions of unexpected pregnancies were 30 percent more likely to experience subsequent problems with anxiety than those who don't have one.

Women in the study who had abortions and suffered from general anxiety disorder experienced irritability, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, a pounding or racing heart, or feelings of unreality. [Ertelt, LifeNews.com, 27Oct06, London; see the Compendium of Selected Publications under abortion complications, and see the ACOG sponsored Supreme Court brief in the 2005 Ayotte case, page 24, pdf page 33. This article barely mentions suicide, failing to add that in a Finnish data base of over 600,000 pregnancies, the suicide rate for aborted women was SIX times the rate for delivered women in the first  year!]

"We applaud members of the medical profession for highlighting the devastating effects suffered by many women after abortion," said Citra Abbott of pro-life campaign group Alive and Kicking. "The abortion industry has, for too long, marketed abortion as a positive solution to a crisis pregnancy, denying the distress and long term trauma that can be experienced. We urge the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Psychiatrists to formally acknowledge the very real risk of psychological harm..Surely those who support a woman's right to abortion must also support her right to know the risks associated with that choice...Choice is only a reality if women know exactly what it is that they are choosing."

Peter Saunders, General Secretary of the CMF, said, "This strengthening evidence for a link between abortion and mental illness needs to be taken very seriously. Women have a right to know the medical facts in order that they make fully informed decisions and get the help they need, and doctors, and particularly the Royal Colleges, have a responsibility to impart accurate information and
provide proper care." [Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=413049&in_page_id=1770]

One of the best kept secrets in the abortion industry is the significant increase in suicide in the one year following the abortion.  In Minnesota, teens attempted suicide rate was 10 times their control peers in the 6 months after an abortion.  In Finland, from Government records, the aborted women had a suicide rate 6 times higher than the women who delivered. Below is a synopsis of the 2 articles showing this information: 

SUICIDE ATTEMPTS ASSOCIATED WITH INDUCED ABORTION
References:  Garfinkle, B.,  et. al., “Stress, Depression, and Suicide:  A study of  Adolescents in Minnesota”  (Minneapolis: Univ Minnesota Extension Service, 1986):

Teens are generally at a higher risk for both suicide and abortion.  In a survey of teenaged  girls, researchers at U. Minn found that the rate of attempted suicide in the six months prior to the study increased 10 fold—from 0.4% for girls who had not aborted to 4% for teens who had aborted in the previous six months.
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Reference:  Morgan, C., et. al.,”Mental health may deteriorate as a direct effect of induced abortion,” letter section,  Brit. Med. Journal 314:902, 22 Mar 97:

Reachearchers  at South Glomorgan Health Authority in Great Britain  found that after abortions, there were 8.9 suicide attempts per 1000, compared to 1.9 suicide attempts per 1000 among those who gave birth.
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DEATHS, INCLUDING SUICIDE ASSOCIATED WITH PREGNANCY OUTCOME
(Not due to immediate complications of the delivery or abortion procedure)
(These studies are all based on computerized  medical records, i.e., they depend on written records rather than potentially erroneous patient interview material..

References:
Gissler, M, et.al., “Pregnancy associated deaths in Finland 1987-1994, Acta Obsetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 76:651-657 (1997)
Gissler, M., et.al.,,”Suicides after pregnancy in Finland: 1987-1994: register linkage study.  British Medical Journal 313:1431-34, (1996)
Summarized in The Post-Abortion Review, Vol 8, No. 2, April-June 2000, from Elliot Institute, PO Box 7348, Springfield, IL 62791

Examines records of all women ages 15 to 49 who died in Finland from 1987 to 1994, includes in the study those who died within 1 year of their last pregnancy event: 281 deaths.
Of these 281 women dying within 1 year of  pregnancy event (ie, liveborn delivery, stillborn, miscarriage, or induced abortion), 27% died by suicide, 20 % died due to “accident,” 5% died by homicide,  45% died due to “natural cause,” 3%”violent-unclear cause—either accident, suicide, or homicide..” These are compared to non-pregnant age matched women.

For purposes of meaningful comparison, maternal deaths are expressed  as # of deaths/100,000, and are compared to similar age women who are not pregnant.

In the year following their last pregnancy event, all cause  maternal mortality data shows:
No pregnancy          54/100,000
Birth               27/100,000
Miscarriage          48/100,000
Induced Abortion`101/100,000
See Figure 1

In the year following their last pregnancy event, maternal suicide data shows:
No pregnancy          11.3/100,000
Birth                 5.9/100,000
Miscarriage             15/100,000
Induced Abortion     34.7/100,000

In the year following their last pregnancy event, death from “accident” data shows:
Giving birth is protective: death rate is 1/2 the rate of non-pregnant women.
Those who aborted had twice the “non-pregnant” rate, and 4 times the rate of those who gave birth.

In the year following their last pregnancy event, death from homicide data shows:
Giving birth is protective: death rate about 1/3 the “non-pregnant” rate. 
Those who aborted were about ten times more likely to die by homicide than those who gave birth,  and were more than 4 times more likely to die by homicide than the general population. 

In the year following their last pregnancy event, death from “natural causes” data shows:
l.  Women capable of becoming pregnant are generally healthier than women who cannot or do not become pregnant. 
2.  Pregnant women who abort are 60% more likely to die within one year from natural causes than women who deliver... 

Timing of Suicides after abortion show a peak at about the baby’s expected due date. 
The “take home” message is that women in Finland who chose abortion are 6 times more likely to commit suicide in the following year than women who chose to deliver