Dear ProLife Colleague, Why is the Coleman study in the current Brit J 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%; for depression it was 37%; for alcohol use/abuse it was 110%, for marijuana use/abuse it was 220%, and for suicide behaviors it was 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.) Abstract can be found at: http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.abstract
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