Dear ProLife Colleague, Here 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 topc 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 philosoply 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.
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