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    • E. Christian Brugger, D.Phil. – E. Christian Brugger is a Senior Fellow of Ethics and Director of the Fellows Program at the Culture of Life Foundation in Washington, D.C. and the J. Francis Cardinal Stafford Professor of Moral Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado. He has Master degrees in moral theology and moral philosophy from Seton Hall, Harvard and Oxford Universities and received his D.Phil. (Ph.D.) in Christian ethics from Oxford in 2000.  Christian has published over 200 articles in scholarly and popular periodicals on topics in bioethics, sexual ethics, natural law theory, as well as the interdisciplinary field of psychology and Christian anthropology.  He lives on a farm in Evergreen, Colorado, with his wife Melissa and five children.
    • Helen Alvaré, J.D. – Helen Alvaré, J.D. is Honorary Fellow in Law at the Culture of Life Foundation.   Helen is an Associate Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia where she teaches and publishes in the areas of property law, family law, and Catholic social thought. Professor Alvaré serves as Consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute where she chairs the Conscience Protection Task Force, is President of the Chiaroscuro Foundation and most recently Editor and Co-Author of Breaking Through: Catholic Women Speak for Themselves.From 2000 to Spring 2008, Professor Alvare taught at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. Professor Alvare also lectures widely in the United States and Europe on matters concerning marriage, family and respect for human life. She is a consultant to ABC News and to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Marriage and Pro-Life Committees. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named Professor Alvare a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.From 1987-2000, Professor Alvare was an attorney with the USCCB’s General Counsel Office and director of information and planning for the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. In these positions, she testified before the…
    • Jennifer Kimball Watson, Be.L. – Jennifer Kimball Watson joined Culture of Life Foundation as Executive Director in November of 2007. She is an Adjunct Professor of Bioethics at the Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, F.L.. Previous to her work with the Culture of Life Foundation Jennifer was a Wilbur Fellow of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal located in Michigan. Jennifer earned a Licentiate in Bioethics from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum School of Bioethics in Rome.  Her prior undergraduate studies were in International Administration and Government Policy at the Evergreen State College in Washington State.Jennifer’s areas of specialization include Eugenics in Artificial Reproductive Technologies, Heterologous Adoption and Transfer of Embryos, The Womb in Reproductive Technologies, and the Role and Significance of The Medical Act. She interviews with National Conservative and Christian Radio Syndicates as well as several foreign and secular reporters. Jennifer has spoken on the dignity of women and women’s social issues to various audiences since 1999 and has spent several years in advocacy work with various international organizations in the field of life sciences. From 2000 to 2006 she recruited and coordinated grass-roots social policy efforts that consisted of a public and private sector network of professionals and academics…
    • Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D. – Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D., is Culture of Life Foundation’s Associate Fellow in Law. Maggie is member of Washington, D.C. and Maryland bar associations.  She holds a B.A. in Philosophy (Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude) and a Certificate in Classical Philosophy from the University Honors Program at The Catholic University of America. She earned a Juris Doctorate from Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, where she served as a Research Fellow at CUA Law’s Marriage Law Project. She also studied Roman Law and EU Law at Magdalene College, University of Oxford, England.A former Fellow and Staff Counsel for Americans United for Life, Datiles co-authored an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark partial birth abortion case, Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, et al., companion case to Gonzales v. Carhart (2007). She also advised legislators, policy groups and the media (radio and newspapers) on abortion and bioethics laws and drafted pro-life model legislation.Her areas of research and/or publication include legal issues surrounding abortion, government funding restrictions for abortion, contraception, healthcare rights of conscience, stem cell research, artificial reproductive technology, population decline, physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage.She currently publishes articles…
    • William E. May – William E. May is Senior Research Fellow of the Culture of Life Foundation and emeritus Michael J. McGivney Professor of Moral Theology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he taught the academic years from 1991 through 2008 after teaching for 20 years at The Catholic University of America. He is the author of more than a dozen books. The 2nd edition of his Catholic Bioethics and the Gift of Human Life was published by Our Sunday Visitor (2008), and a substantively revised 3rd edition is scheduled for publication in 2013. In 2003 Our Sunday Visitor published a revised and expanded edition of his Introduction to Moral Theology. Among his other books are: Marriage: The Rock on Which the Family Is Built (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1995; 2nd revised edition, 2009)); and, with Ronald Lawler OFM Cap and Joseph Boyle, Catholic Sexual Ethics (rev. and enlarged ed. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1998; 2nd rev. edition, 1998; a 3rd edition, substantively revised by May alone, was published in 2011); Theology of the Body: Genesis and Growth (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2010) He has published more…
    • Frank J. Moncher, Ph.D. – Dr. Frank Moncher received his Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina in 1992, following which he spent several years on faculty of the Medical College of Georgia, with a focus on Adolescent Intensive Services. In 2000 he moved to the Washington, DC area to teach at a graduate school of psychology which had a mission of integrating the science of psychology in the context of the Catholic Christian view of the human person. Concurrent with this, over the past 12 years he has consulted with 11 different religious orders and 4 dioceses to provide psychological evaluations of aspirants and candidates, as well as consulting with different diocesan marriage tribunals.His research interests include the integration of Catholic thought into psychotherapy, child and family development issues, and integrated models of assessment of candidates for the priesthood and religious life. Frank is published in Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, Adolescence, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Edification, and the Journal of Psychology and Christianity, as well as contributing to several book chapters on children, families, and religious issues.Since 2010, Dr. Moncher has worked for the Diocese of Arlington and Catholic Charities as a psychologist and consultant.  His…
    • Steve Soukup – Fellow in Culture and Economy Steve Soukup is the Vice President and Publisher of The Political Forum, an “independent research provider” that delivers research and consulting services to the institutional investment community, with an emphasis on economic, social, political, and geopolitical events that are likely to have an impact on the financial markets in the United States and abroad. Mr. Soukup has followed politics and federal regulatory policy for the financial community since coming to Washington in 1996, when he joined Mark Melcher at the award-winning Washington-research office of Prudential Securities. While at Prudential, he was part of the Washington team that placed first in Institutional Investor magazine’s annual analyst survey for eight years in a row. Mr. Soukup left Prudential with Mr. Melcher to join Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2000 and stayed there for two years, before leaving early in 2003 to become a partner at The Political Forum. While at Lehman, Mr. Soukup authored macro-political commentary and followed policy developments in the Natural Resources sector group, focusing on agriculture and energy policy. He also headed Lehman’s industry-leading analysis of asbestos litigation reform efforts. At The Political Forum, Mr. Soukup was initially the editor and junior partner,…
    • Dr. Pilar Calva, M.D. – Dr. Calva is a medical doctor specializing in Human Genetics with a Cytogenetics subspecialty from The University of Paris, France. In Paris, she was the under-study to the world-renowned Professor Jerome Lejeune, who is considered by some to be the father of modern genetics. In 1958, Lejeune discovered that an extra 21st chromosome is responsible for Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21. Lejeune dedicated his life tirelessly and unfailingly to defend the unborn, especially those with Down syndrome, testifying before scientific conferences and lawmakers. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II as the first President of the Pontifical Academy for Life. In Dr. Calva’s own words: When I arrived in France, I lived a life divided between faith and reason. I thought that from Monday to Saturday, I put on my white coat for my scientific tasks, and Sunday was the day I took off the white coat, put on my crucifix and dedicated myself to my religious duties. Professor Lejeune truly converted me, making me see that one can wear the white coat and the cross, at the same time. That is, one can fly with the wing of faith and the wing of reason. Inspired by the life…
    • Elyse M. Smith – Elyse M. Smith is an associate attorney with a northern Virginia law firm working in nonprofit and church law, estate planning, and civil litigation. Ms. Smith graduated magna cum laude from Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida, where she served on Law Review and was published in the Ave Maria International Law Journal. She was named “Most Dedicated Editor” for her work on Law Review. Ms. Smith earned her bachelor’s degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.  
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  >  Issue Briefs  >  Life  >  Is Abortion Good For Women’s Health?

Is Abortion Good For Women’s Health?

Posted: September 10, 2015
By: Dr. Pilar Calva, M.D.
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Many claim that abortion increases women’s health and reduces maternal mortality, but numerous studies contradict those claims.  Here we summarize just a few of them:

The Studies

  • British Medical Journal: a study from 32 Mexican states, finding that maternal mortality in the states with the most restrictive abortion legislation is 23% lower than that in the states where abortion is more accessible.
  • Journal of Public Health Policy: a study from 23 U.S. states finding that more-restrictive abortion legislation was associated with lower rates of complications from abortion.
  • Plos One: a study from Chile, finding that the prohibition of abortion in 1989 did not result in any increase of the rate of maternal mortality.
  • The de Veber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research: a study from Finland finding the rate of maternal mortality within 12 months is four times higher for women who had abortions compared with those who give birth.
  • Southern Medical Journal: a study of low income women in California finding that women who had abortions were nearly twice as likely as those who had given birth to die in the following two years.
  • American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology: a study from Finland finding women who received an abortion had a probability of death:
    •   46% higher than those who had not had a pregnancy,
    •   60% higher than those who had a miscarriage, and
    • 195% higher than those who gave birth.

With statistics such as these, if women’s health is really the concern, the best course of action is to restrict abortion and dedicate resources for better obstetric care.

The Risks

Damage from abortion can be physical and psychological.  Even when this damage doesn’t lead to death, it can lead to permanent, long-term health problems.

Physical Complications:

  • Severe Hemorrhaging: can occur during an abortion or in the following days.  Blood transfusions, and even a hysterectomy to stop the hemorrhage, have been needed.
  • Infection: can cause death from septicemia.  The risk increases if parts of the fetus or the placenta remain in the uterus, or when the patient has an STD such as Chlamydia.  Pharmaceutical abortion is also a risk.  In the U.S., death has occurred in users of the abortion pill RU-486.  Research indicates this drug interferes with the immune system, allowing development of especially-dangerous germs that can cause septic shock.
  • Cervical Tears: In at least 1% of first trimester abortions, there are notable cervical tears requiring sutures.  Post-abortive lesions can later cause cervical incompetence, miscarriage and premature labor.  Risk increases for adolescents and for abortions during the second trimester.
  • Perforation of the Uterus: occurs in 2% – 3% of cases.  This risk increases in women who already have children and in those who have general anesthesia during the abortion.  Damage can result in complications for future pregnancies and develop into problems that require a hysterectomy.
  • Ectopic Pregnancy: Various studies indicate that the risk of ectopic pregnancy after an abortion is between 2 and 13 times greater.
  • Premature Labor: Post-abortive women have a greater risk of premature labor. Premature birth increases the risk of neonatal death and is the main cause of serious conditions in newborns including asthma, blindness, hearing loss, low IQ, respiratory problems and cerebral paralysis.
  • Breast Cancer

Science is still researching and debating the relationship between abortion and breast cancer.  Nevertheless, more than 25 studies show increased risk.  A meta-analysis of 28 studies by Dr. Joel Brind and bio-statistician Vern Chinchilli concluded that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer by 30%.

In 1973, the year abortion was legalized in the United States, the rate of breast cancer was 82.6 per 100,000 and it was considered an older woman’s illness.  In 1998, the rate of breast cancer had increased more than 40% and it had become an illness of young women.

Psychological Complications:

These are more frequent than physical complications yet women generally don’t report them, nor do they receive support in dealing with them.  Psychological trauma—Post Abortion Syndrome—can affect women many years after an abortion.  Some 60% of abortive women suffer subsequent emotional problems.  Some 30% suffer severe problems.

  • Suicide Risk: Approximately 60% of women who experience psychological side effects after an abortion report suicidal thoughts; of those, 28% actually attempt suicide.  A Finnish study found that the rate of suicide of post-abortive women in the year following an abortion was seven times higher than that of women who had given birth.
  • Drug and Alcohol Abuse: More than 20 medical studies link abortion to increased drug and alcohol abuse.  Among women who have had an unwanted pregnancy, those who had an abortion had a higher rate of psychoactive substance abuse than those who carried the pregnancy to term.
  • Sexual and Relationship Dysfunction: Changes in sexual relations and sexual desire have been reported.  Post-abortive couples are more likely to separate or divorce.
  • Child Abuse: Abortion increases the cases of abuse of other children as feelings of guilt and decreased self-esteem impact the mother.  In the United States, child abuse has increased more than 1,000% since the legalization of abortion.

Conclusion

Abortion kills millions of babies—but the destruction does not stop there.  It kills or maims mothers as well, for a woman knows, better than anyone, that the one alive in her womb is a child: a son or daughter; a child who is weak and defenseless, a child in need of warmth, food, protection and love.

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