Dear ProLife Colleague, Why is the Priscila Coleman article in the Sept 1 British Journal of Psychiatry so remarkable?? Because it is there at all!! You can’t imagine the scrutiny and revisions this article went thru to be accepted by this excellent journal. And that is good! It gives all the more reason why you can trust the results. Below find comments by David Reardon of the Eliot Institute (himself the author of a number of articles on the topic of abortion and mental health). www.AfterAbotion.org As you read, remember that, on average, 1/3 of your adult female patients have had an abortion, and will be subject to these adverse emotional results.
Most Studies Show Abortion Linked To Increased Mental Health Problems
Women Cope with Delivery of Unplanned Pregnancy Better than Abortion Springfield, IL (September 1, 2011) – Women who have abortions are 81% more likely to experience subsequent mental health problems, according to a new study published by Britain’s Royal College of Psychiatrists. The greatest increases were seen in relation to suicidal behaviors and substance abuse. The meta-analysis examined and combined results of 22 studies published between 1995 and 2009 included data on 877,181 women from six countries. Using a standardized statistical technique for combining the results of multiple studies, the meta-analysis revealed that women with a history of abortion face higher rates of anxiety (34% higher), depression (37%), heavier alcohol (110%) and marijuana use (230%), and suicidal behavior (155%). The study also found that women who delivered an unplanned pregnancy were significantly less likely to have mental health problems than similar women who aborted unplanned pregnancies. Women with a history of abortion were 55% more likely to have mental health problems than women who did not abort an unplanned pregnancy. The meta-analysis was conducted by Priscilla Coleman, a research psychologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Coleman is the most published researcher in the field of abortion and mental health. According to Dr. David Reardon, who has published more than a dozen studies investigating abortion’s impact on women, publication of this quantitative meta-analysis is long overdue. “This is the first objective comparison of all the major studies,” said Reardon, director of the Elliot Institute. “It demonstrates that when you put the results of all these various studies side by side in a standardized way, there is a remarkable consistency in the trend of findings. This gives us confidence that the trend we are seeing is real because it is consistently showing up the whole variety studies with different strengths and different weaknesses