Is Abortion Good For Women’s Health?

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.