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Study Shows Direct Link Between Abortion and Mental Health Problems
On 28 November08, an American study was published with the same general results: "Induced abortion and anxiety,
mood, and substance abuse disorders: Isolating the effects of abortion
in the national comorbidity survey", Journal of Psychiatric Research, November 2008
A research study featuring numerous controls and a national data set finds a link between abortion and psychiatric disorders.
The study refutes the report the American Psychiatric Association released in August claiming abortion causes no mental health issues for women. The research team found induced abortions result in increased risks for a myriad of mental health problems ranging from anxiety to depression to substance abuse disorders.
The number of cases of mental health issues rose by as much as 17 percent in women having abortions compared to those who did not have one and the risks of each particular mental health problem rose as much as 145% for post-abortive women.
For 12 out of 15 of the mental health outcomes examined, a decision to have an abortion resulted in an elevated risk for women.
"Abortion was found to be related to an increased risk for a variety of mental health problems (panic attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, major depression with and without hierarchy), and substance abuse disorders after statistical controls were instituted for a wide range of personal, situational, and demographic variables," they wrote.
"Calculation of population
attributable risks indicated that abortion was implicated in between
4.3% and 16.6% of the incidence of these disorders," they concluded.
Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family
Studies at Bowling Green State University, led the research team that
conducted the study.
Together with Catherine Coyle of Edgewood College, researcher Martha
Shuping and psychologist Dr. Vincent Rue, they published their results
online today at the Journal of Psychiatric Research, a well-established
and respected journal.
The researchers found women who had abortions, compared with those who
did not, had a 120% risk for alcohol abuse, with or without dependence,
a 145% increased risk of alcohol dependence, 79% increased risk of drug
abuse with or without dependence and a 126% increase in the risk of
drug dependence.
For mood disorders, the experience of an abortion increased risk of
developing bipolar disorder by 167%, major depression without hierarchy
by 45% and major depression with hierarchy by 48%.
For anxiety disorders, there was a 111% increased risk for panic
disorders, 44% increased risk for panic attacks, 59% increased risk for
PTSD, 95% increased risk for agoraphobia with or without panic disorder
and a 93% increased risk for agoraphobia without panic disorder.
There was no mental health outcome showing abortion to have decreased
the risk or a high risk for women who did not have an abortion.
Some abortion advocates have dismissed the wealth of previous research
on the link between abortion and mental health problems by saying
factors unrelated to the abortion contributed to them. The scientists
found abortion elevated the risks independently of those factors.
"The abortion variable made a significant independent contribution to
more mental health outcomes than a history of rape, sexual abuse in
childhood, physical assault in adulthood, physical abuse in childhood,
and neglect which contributed to between four and ten different
diagnoses," the scholars wrote.
"What is most notable in this study is that abortion contributed
significant independent effects to numerous mental health problems
above and beyond a variety of other traumatizing and stressful life
experiences," they said.
Ultimately, the authors write that abortion is directly "responsible
for more than 10% of the population incidence of alcohol dependence,
alcohol abuse, drug dependence, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and
bipolar disorder in the population."
The team also found that spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages, had an
independent effect on 4 of the 15 psychiatric illnesses examined --
indicating abortion is significantly more traumatic for women than a
miscarriage.
The team relied on a nationally representative sample, the national
comorbidity survey, which is widely recognized as the first nationally
representative survey of mental health in the United States.
The team wrote that more research is needed to determine why having an
abortion causes women to be more susceptible to the mental health
problems.
Reference: Coleman PK et al., Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and
substance abuse disorders: Isolating the effects of abortion in the
national comorbidity survey, Journal of Psychiatric Research (2008),
doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.10.009.
[28 November 2008, Ertelt, LifeNews.com, Washington, DC]
Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders:
Isolating the effects of abortion in the national comorbidity survey
In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 28 November 2008
Priscilla K. Coleman, Catherine T. Coyle, Martha Shuping, Vincent M. Rue
[Coleman PK et al., Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance
abuse disorders: Isolating, Journal of Psychiatric Research (2008),
doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.10.009]
Abstract
Using data from the United States National Survey of Family Growth
(NSFG) and the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS), we conducted
secondary data analyses to examine the relationship of abortion,
including multiple abortions, to anxiety after first pregnancy outcome
in two studies. First, when analyzing the NSFG, we found that
pre-pregnancy anxiety symptoms, rape history, age at first pregnancy
outcome (abortion vs. delivery), race, marital status, income,
education, subsequent abortions, and subsequent deliveries accounted
for a significant association initially found between first pregnancy
outcome and experiencing subsequent anxiety symptoms. We then tested
the relationship of abortion to clinically diagnosed generalized
anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and
social anxiety disorder, using NCS data. Contrary to findings from our
analyses of the NSFG, in the NCS analyses we did not find a significant
relationship between first pregnancy outcome and subsequent rates of
GAD, social anxiety, or PTSD. However, multiple abortions were found to
be associated with much higher rates of PTSD and social anxiety; this
relationship was largely explained by pre-pregnancy mental health
disorders and their association with higher rates of violence.
Researchers and clinicians need to learn more about the relations of
violence exposure, mental health, and pregnancy outcome to avoid
attributing poor mental health solely to pregnancy outcomes.
Supportive counseling before and after elective pregnan...
Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, Volume 49, Issue 2, March-April 2004, Pages 105-112
Amy A. Harris
Abstract
Midwives are likely to encounter women seeking care before or after an
elective abortion. National estimates of abortion rates suggest that
43% of women in the United States will have at least one abortion by
the time they are 45 years old. By not asking women about abortion
experiences, providers risk perpetuating women’s guilt, shame, and
silence. This article describes the emotional consequences of elective
abortion, identifies women at high risk for negative reactions, and
offers approaches to counseling about the psychosocial effects of
abortion both before and after the procedure. Through the provision of
counseling for women who have abortions, providers will be able to
assist with coping, identify women who might be at greater risk for
psychological sequelae, and offer referrals to those in need.
Purchase PDF (87 K)
Women should be offered post-abortion psychological car...
The Lancet, Volume 372, Issue 9639, 23 August 2008-29 August 2008, Page 602
Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders:
Isolating the effects of abortion in the national comorbidity survey
Priscilla K. Coleman, Catherine T. Coyle, Martha Shuping, Vincent M. Rue,
Received 8 September 2008;
revised 19 October 2008;
accepted 21 October 2008.
Available online 28 November 2008.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine associations between abortion
history and a wide range of anxiety (panic disorder, panic attacks,
PTSD, Agoraphobia), mood (bipolar disorder, mania, major depression),
and substance abuse disorders (alcohol and drug abuse and dependence)
using a nationally representative US sample, the national comorbidity
survey. Abortion was found to be related to an increased risk for a
variety of mental health problems (panic attacks, panic disorder,
agoraphobia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, major depression with and without
hierarchy), and substance abuse disorders after statistical controls
were instituted for a wide range of personal, situational, and
demographic variables. Calculation of population attributable risks
indicated that abortion was implicated in between 4.3% and 16.6% of the
incidence of these disorders. Future research is needed to identify
mediating mechanisms linking abortion to various disorders and to
understand individual difference factors associated with vulnerability
to developing a particular mental health problem after abortion.
Coleman PK et al., Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance
abuse disorders: Isolating, Journal of Psychiatric Research (2008),
doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.10.009.
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Abortion 
