Subject: Elliot Institute News, Vol. 7, No. 2
From the Leader in Post-Abortion Research
Vol. 7, No. 2 -- Feb. 13, 2008
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NCAA Adopts New Rule to Alleviate Pressure on Pregnant Athletes to Abort
British Man May Face Charges Ten Years After Pregnant Girlfriend's Death
Study Finds High Rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Women Who Had Abortions
Researchers: PTSD Rates Increased by 61 Percent After Abortion
According to a study
published in the journal BMC Psychiatry, women who have experienced
abortion have high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which follow
findings from earlier studies linking abortion and PTSD.
The study of 155 women in South Africa who had abortions looked at symptoms
before abortion and at one month and three months after abortion. Almost
one-fifth of the women had symptoms that met the criteria for PTSD, leading the
authors to note that "high rates of PTSD characterize women who have undergone
voluntary pregnancy termination." Further, at three months after the abortions,
the number of women with PTSD had increased by 61 percent compared to before the
abortion.
The researchers compared levels of pain and psychological outcomes among women
who had received a local anesthetic versus those who had received IV sedation.
Women who had received a local anesthetic had higher levels of pain before and
during abortion and were more likely to experience PTSD symptoms, but
researchers found no difference in symptoms over a longer period of time.
In other words, what the study found was that using one form of pain management over the other did not effect rates of psychological trauma experienced by women after abortion. These findings lend credence to the theory that abortion itself is the cause of trauma for women, not the amount of physical pain they experience.
This study is not the first to link abortion with increased levels of PTSD. In a
2004
study published in the
Medical Science Monitor, 65 percent of
American women who had undergone abortions reported symptoms of PTSD, which they
attributed to their abortions, and slightly over 14 percent reported all the
symptoms necessary for a clinical diagnosis of PTSD.
Other
studies have linked abortion to higher rates of sleep disorders, which are
often associated with PTSD, as well as higher rates of anxiety disorders,
clinical depression, substance abuse, suicide, and other problems. One study
found increased rates of death from cardiovascular rates among women who had
abortions up to eight years earlier compared to women who gave birth, which the
researchers speculated could be related to trauma symptoms.
The authors of the
BMC study called for more screening to be done on
women prior to abortion in order to "help identify women at risk of PTSD and
provide follow-up care." However, there is no evidence
that abortion alleviates any psychological symptoms in women and abortion has
been in fact linked to increased mental health problems - including PTSD - after
abortion.
The Elliot Institute's model legislation, the Protection from High Risk and
Coerced Abortion Act, would require abortion businesses to screen women for
evidence that they are being coerced or forced into unwanted abortions and for
other risk factors that are likely to put them at risk for post-traumatic stress
and other problems after abortion.
"The abortion industry should not be subjecting women to a procedure that is
likely to increase or cause symptoms of post-traumatic stress or other mental
health problems," said Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, who has
worked on more than a dozen studies documenting the psychological impact of
abortion on women. "Furthermore, the evidence shows that many of
these abortions are unwanted and the result of pressure or coercion from others.
The industry should be held liable for putting women at risk and performing
unwanted and dangerous abortions."
~~~
Source:
Sharain Suliman et. al., "Comparison of pain, cortisol levels, and psychological distress in women undergoing surgical termination of pregnancy under local anaesthesia versus intravenous sedation," BMC Psychiatry 2007, 7:24.
NCAA Adopts New Rule to Alleviate Pressure on Pregnant Athletes to Abort
The NCAA has
adopted a new rule designed to protect college athletes who become pregnant from
being pressured into abortion in order to avoid losing scholarships or their
place on a team.
The organization adopted the rule, which prevents schools from retracting
scholarships during the year a student becomes pregnant, in response to reports
that students at some universities had undergone abortions because of fears over
losing their sports standings. The rule requires colleges to treat pregnant
athletes as they would any student who is temporarily unable to play sports by
allowing them to take time off without losing scholarship money.
An ESPN program that aired last year included interviews with seven students from Clemson University who said they felt coerced into having abortions in order to keep their scholarships. According to one survey of pregnant women, 64 percent reported feeling pressured to abort and a survey of women in post-abortion support groups found that more than 80 percent said they would have continued the pregnancy had they felt supported to do so.
British Man May Face Charges Ten Years After Pregnant Girlfriend's Death
A British man who allegedly killed his pregnant girlfriend while she was in labor a decade ago may face murder charges if he is found fit to stand trial.
The prosecutor told a judge he plans to reinstate the original indictment charging Richard Gray with murder and child destruction. Gray was accused of strangling 26-year-old Virginia Sivil in Feb. 1998 while she was in the first stages of labor, but was committed to a maximum security hospital after being found unfit to stand trial. The prosecutor has requested new psychiatric reports to determine whether or not Gray can stand trial.
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