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New Research Shows Potential for Mental and Physical Harm to Women Who Undergo Drug Induced Elective Abortions

For Immediate Release: May 31, 2019

Donna Harrison, MD, CEO, American Association of Pro-life Ob-Gyns
donna@aaplog.org

A newly published research report details the potential for psychological and physical effects to women who undergo elective drug-induced abortions. The research investigators who authored the report detail the severe negative behavioral and physiological effects observed, specifically in rats that underwent a drug induced termination. This is the first research of its kind, investigating the biological and behavioral effects of drug-induced abortion in an animal model.

“Elective abortion was thrust on American women without regard to the safety of this procedure or the long-term effects on a woman’s body or mind,” said Dr. Donna Harrison, American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG). “Medical abortion researchers focused on how fast the drug could kill the baby, and how much effort it would take on the part of the abortionists to handle complications. This study (the first not performed by the abortion industry) raises serious concerns about mental health effects of drug-induced abortions and the differences between spontaneous and induced abortion. Such studies should have been performed long before drug-induced abortion was allowed on the market.”

“The direct target of a treatment is not and should not be the sole goal of medicine. It is the overall well-being of the patient that is of greatest importance and the minimization of harm,” said Dr. Stephen Sammut, Ph.D., Franciscan University, principal investigator of the study. “This is dependent on addressing not just the target of the treatment, but also understanding the unwanted consequences. As a result, the medical techniques and treatments used in humans generally undergo significant, rigorous pre-clinical therapeutic and toxicological investigation. This has not really been the case with the administration of abortifacients, where the focus has been primarily directed at the success of terminating a pregnancy.”

“The goal of this study was to provide a framework, using an animal model, for the background investigation of the drug-induced abortion procedure. The use of animal models – in this case rats – is common in research, because of the similarity that exists in physiology, neurology, neurophysiology and the resulting behaviors, such as the response to stress. The knowledge acquired from these models has benefitted many disorders and contributed significantly to the progress of medicine,” Sammut continued.

“The findings of our study highlight the potential for negative health implications in women undergoing drug-induced pregnancy termination. In our model, we observed behaviors that are recognized as indicators of negative well-being (unhealthy) in the rats. These included a lack of interest in eating, a hunched posture, reduced grooming, and potential anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Therefore, our observations are potentially indicative of significant changes within the brain resulting from the pregnancy termination. While this aspect is yet to be investigated, similar changes could be hypothesized to also happen in the human brain, following drug-induced termination and require our attention and further in-depth investigation, especially given that our physiological observations indicate the potential for long-term implications,” concluded Sammut.

The research paper: Biological, Behavioral and Physiological Consequences of Drug-Induced Pregnancy Termination at First-Trimester Human Equivalent in an Animal Model [Link] is a peer reviewed research article published in Frontiers In Neuroscience. The researchers and authors are Christina Camilleri, Rebecca M. Beiter, Lisett Puentes, Paula Aracena-Sherck, and Stephen Sammut.

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