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The excellent new Coleman study in the Brit. J Psychiatry on mental health effects of abortion can be seen at:

http://www.aaplog.org/complications-of-induced-abortion/induced-abortion-and-mental-health/huge-new-study-abortion-and-mental-health-quantitative-synthesis-and-analysis-of-research-published-1995-2009/

[1 Sept 11, AAPLOG]

 

AAPLOG, 2 September 2011, Part 2:
Why is the Coleman study in the current British Journal of Psychiatry so worth your study, and worth the attention of the medical community? Several reasons:

1. This review offers the largest estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion available in the world literature. The results revealed an 81% increased risk of mental health problems after abortion. Consistent with evidence-based medicine, this information should be used by health care professionals.

2. The paper is being published in a very prestigious journal, the British Journal of Psychiatry, which is considered one of the top psychiatry journals in the world. (That alone is remarkable!.) This means the paper has been extensively scrutinized by well-respected scientists. (This is not a conservative blog journal)

3. This meta-analysis is based on 22 published studies, from 6 countries, studying 36 effects, and it brings together data on 877,181 participants, 163,831 of whom experienced an abortion. That is a superb database.

4. When compared to "unintended pregnancy delivered," "pregnancy aborted" women had a 55% increased risk of experiencing any mental health problem.

Separate effects were calculated based on the type of mental health outcome with the results revealing the following: the increased risk for anxiety disorders was 34%; the increased risk for depression — 37%; for alcohol use/abuse — 110%; for marijuana use/abuse — 220%; and for suicide behaviors — 155%.

Clearly, abortion is a poor solution for an undesired pregnancy (and note that most abortions are done ostensibly to avoid emotional distress of some kind. These women are NOT avoiding emotional distress.)

The Abstract can be found at: http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.abstract

ABSTRACT
The British Journal of Psychiatry (2011) 199: 180-186 doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.110.077230
"Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009"
Priscilla K. Coleman

Conclusions: This review offers the largest quantitative estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion available in the world literature. Calling into question the conclusions from traditional reviews, the results revealed a moderate to highly increased risk of mental health problems after abortion. Consistent with the tenets of evidence-based medicine, this information should inform the delivery of abortion services.

 

 

AAPLOG Comments / Landmark Study Provides Further Evidence Abortion a Mental Health Risk for Many, Confirms AUL's Call for Informed Consent Laws

This is our 4th letter commenting on the Coleman Study in the new Brit J Psychiatry. Why are we spending so much ink on this?? Because it is the largest quantitative study on this topic that has been done. It represents the mental health experience of 877,000 women. And have you seen it reported in any mainstream media?? Minimal reporting there, if any. The philosophy seems to be, "ignore it, trivialize it, it will go away." We strongly urge you: Become familiar with with this study says about abortion and adverse effects on women's mental health. Know this stuff!!

These comments are from Americans United for Life:
Landmark Study Provides Further Evidence Abortion a Mental Health Risk for Many, Confirms AUL's Call for Informed Consent Laws

"The fact that 81 percent of women experienced a higher risk of mental health issues following an abortion should be enough for all sides of the life debate to agree that informed consent laws are needed in every state," said AUL's Dr. Charmaine Yoest.

A study on the mental health effects of abortion released recently could have a huge impact on future discussions of the procedure. The new study is the work of Priscilla K. Coleman, a research psychologist and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University.

Coleman published the study September 1 in The British Journal of Psychiatry (BJP), a publication of Britain's Royal College of Psychiatrists. The study, entitled "Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995-2009," critically reviewed the results of 22 previous studies on abortion and mental health published between 1995-2009. These 22 studies included data on 877,181 women from six countries, 163,831 of whom had experienced an abortion.

The results revealed moderate to high increased risk of mental health problems after abortion. Women with a history of abortion had an 81% higher risk of subsequent mental health problems. More specifically, the study found that women with a history of abortion had an increased risk of anxiety (34% higher), depression (37% higher), alcohol (110% higher), marijuana use (220% higher), and suicidal behavior (155% higher).

Dr. Yoest noted that the study's data confirmed consistent calls from AUL for informed consent laws for women.

"The results are shocking, and the findings provide further evidence of the terrible toll that abortion takes on the lives of the women who are given too little information about the abortion procedure," said Dr. Yoest.
[Sept 14, 2011, www.aaplog.org]

 

 


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 1, 2011
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Darin Miller, (866) FRC-NEWS or (866) 372-6397

New Research Reveals Abortion Harmful to Women's Mental Health
September 01, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a meta-analysis published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry, 81 percent of females who had an abortion were found to be at an increased risk for mental health problems, including depression, alcohol abuse and suicidal behaviors. The study, "Abortion and Mental health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995-2009" by Priscilla Coleman, Ph.D., took into account 22 studies and over 877,000 participants over the 14-year period.

Jeanne Monahan, Director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity, made the following comments about the extensive report:

"Dr. Coleman's research reveals the indisputable truth that abortion is bad for women's mental health. The fact that Coleman's study found 81 percent of women who have had an abortion to be at increased risk for significant mental health problems is proof of this. The study also reveals that as many as ten percent of all mental health problems are directly attributable to abortion.

"With this information, doctors now have a valid and unbiased synthesis of the current research available on the relationship between abortion and women's mental health. Because it is a meta-analysis the research is much more thorough and reliable than any other single study or review to date.

"Women need to know this info

rmation; they have the right to informed consent before choosing abortion. Abortion not only takes the life of a baby but it often causes much emotional harm to the mother."

To read the abstract of the article, click here: http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.abstract
[1 Sept 11]

 

Most Studies Show Abortion Linked To Increased Mental Health Problems: 

Women Cope with Delivery of Unplanned Pregnancy Better than Abortion

Women who have abortions are 81 percent more likely to experience subsequent mental health problems, according to a new study published byBritain’s Royal College of Psychiatrists. The greatest increases were seen in relation to suicidal behaviors and substance abuse.

The meta-analysis examined and combined results of 22 studies published between 1995 and 2009 and included data on 877,181 women from six countries.   All 22 studies revealed higher rates of mental health problems associated with abortion for at least one symptom, and many for more than one symptom.

Using a standardized statistical technique for combining the results of multiple studies, the meta-analysis revealed that women with a history of abortion face higher rates of anxiety (34 percent higher) and depression (37 percent higher), heavier alcohol use (110 percent higher) and marijuana use (230 percent higher), and higher rates of suicidal behavior (155 percent higher).

The study also found that women who delivered an unplanned pregnancy were significantly less likely to have mental health problems than similar women who aborted unplanned pregnancies.  Women with a history of abortion were 55 percent more likely to have mental health problems than women who did not abort an unplanned pregnancy.

The meta-analysis was conducted by Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a research psychologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Coleman is the most published researcher in the field of abortion and mental health.

A statistical estimate of the overall population attributable risk revealed that up to 10 percent of mental health problems among women might be attributable to abortion.

According to Dr. David Reardon, who has published more than a dozen studies investigating abortion’s impact on women and is the director of the Elliot Institute, publication of this quantitative meta-analysis is long overdue.

“This is the first objective comparison of all the major studies,” Reardon said.  “The tables demonstrate that when you put the results of all these various studies side by side in a standardized way, there is a remarkable consistency in the trend of findings. Despite the differences in study design, which have different strengths and weaknesses, the studies are all consistently pointing in the same direction.”

According to London's The Daily Mail, "[P]ublication in the peer-reviewed British journal is a signal that the psychiatric establishment is now taking seriously the possibility that abortion is a cause of anxiety, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide."

For remainder of the article, visit — http://afterabortion.org/2011/most-studies-show-abortion-linked-to-increased-mental-health-problems/

[Source: Coleman PK. Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009. The British Journal of Psychiatry (2011) 199, 180–186; Springfield,IL, September 1, 2011, Elliot Institute]

 

Major Study Links Suicide and Other Mental Health Problems to Abortion
 
September 1, 2011

Mary L. Davenport, MD

An important meta-analysis published today in the prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry demonstrates that nearly 10% of mental health problems in women are directly attributable to abortion. 

"Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995-2009," by Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green University, shows that women with an abortion history have an 81% increased risk of mental health problems and 155% increased risk of suicide. 

This meta-analysis combines 22 studies of 877,181 women, 163, 831 of whom have had abortions. 

A meta-analysis is an especially powerful type of study because it includes a large number of subjects, and by combining studies is much more reliable than a single study.

This review, which is larger than any study to date, contradicts the recent and biased and less systematic review by the American Psychological Association, which fails to find a relationship between mental health problems and abortion. 

The new meta-analysis also contradicts the stance of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which has been silent on the mental health impact of abortion in its official publications despite overwhelming evidence over the last two decades of abortion's adverse effects.

The egregious cover-up of abortion complications is an aspect of "the abortion distortion."  

Elites in charge of professional organizations actively suppress legitimate research on the harms of induced abortion because of political bias or worse.  One of the most notorious examples of "the abortion distortion" was the revelation that Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan actually wrote part of ACOG's position statement on partial birth abortion while working as deputy assistant for domestic policy for Bill Clinton.

This new review in a prestigious psychiatry journal sheds important light on the mental health of women.

For example, South Korea not only has had a major increase in suicide but also holds the world record for the highest rate of female suicide. 

This country is also called "the abortion paradise" because at least 43.7% of pregnancies end in abortion.  

Suicide of young women is also a significant public health problem in China, which compounds the harmful psychological impact of abortion by governmental policy of forced abortion. 

The most sobering finding in the Coleman review is found in the section on "Population Attributable Risk," (PAR), in which the PAR for suicide was found to be 34.9%. PAR estimates the proportion of deaths in an entire population that could be prevented if the cause of death is eliminated (in this case abortion as the cause of suicide in women).

By so powerfully linking abortion to mental health problems, the Coleman study helps us comprehend the magnitude of the damage done to entire nations by reckless, permissive abortion policies.

Mary L Davenpor

t, MD, FACOG, is President, American Association of ProLife Obstetricians and Gynecologists www.aaplog.,org and Medical Director, Magnificat Maternal Health Program, www.mmhp.org
[1 Sept 2011, http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/09/major_study_links_suicide_and_other_mental_health_problems_to_abortion.html]

 

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… and counselors in Project Rachel, [a] 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. . . .

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 peer-reviewed 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 any procedure "in a manner that reflects the current scientific literature," so patients can make an informed choice.

As former abortion business staff attest, and as undercover journalists in the U.S. and U.K. have discovered, counselors at abortion businesses 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 considering abortion deserve to be told these facts—but they won't hear them once they're inside the abortion business. It is up to us to get the word out.

For more information, visit www.hopeafterabortion.org
[2 Sept 2011, http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/life-issues-forum/life-issues-forum-11-09-02.cfm]

 

 

 

[from LifeNews.com, 2 Sept 11]

…The peer-reviewed study indicated abortion was linked with a 34 percent chance of anxiety disorders, and 37 percent higher possibility of depression, a more than double risk of alcohol abuse (110 percent), a three times greater risk of marijuana use (220 percent), and 155 percent greater risk of trying to commit suicide.

…Dr. Coleman said she conducted the study “to produce an unbiased analysis of the best available evidence addressing abortion as one risk factor among many others that may increase the likelihood of mental health problems. There are in fact some real risks associated with abortion that should be shared with women as they are counseled prior to an abortion.”

“This review offers the largest estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion available in the world literature. The results revealed moderate to high increased risk of mental health problems after abortion. Consistent with evidence-based medicine, this information should be used by health care professionals,” Coleman said.

The study is a meta-analysis, which is a quantitative or numerical synthesis of data from many previously published studies. In a meta-analysis all studies are not treated equally. Contributions of individual study effects to the overall results are weighted statistically based on sample size.

Only studies that meet very stringent methodologically-based criteria are entered into the analysis; whereas in other types of reviews authors may not reveal the criteria employed or the criteria may be too restrictive (missing valuable studies) or too general (including weak studies in conclusions), Coleman explained.

The bottom line is the results are far more reliable than the results of a single study or a qualitative review, because of the wealth of data incorporated and the objective methods for combining effects.

“The paper is being published in a very prestigious journal, the British Journal of Psychiatry, which is considered one of the top psychiatry journals in the world. This means the paper has been extensively scrutinized by well-respected scientists and the results of studies are trusted by practitioners throughout the world,” Coleman said.
[Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 9/2/11, http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/02/women-should-be-told-of-abortion-mental-health-link-risks/