Induced abortion not only ends a preborn child’s life but also threatens the mother, with a new study revealing that such danger could extend all the way to a woman’s first live birth after an abortion. The recently published scientific paper, co-authored by members of AAPLOG working with the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), is yet another strike against the popular idea that induced abortions are safe and easy with no long-term consequences.
In this study, the authors found that abortion is a risk factor for later severe maternal morbidity at a woman’s first birth, crucial information that should be included in informed consent as women are contemplating an abortion.
The study examined Medicaid data on deliveries of women with no prior pregnancies and those with exactly one prior pregnancy loss, whether it was a spontaneous or induced abortion. The data set was from 1999 through 2021 from seventeen states that paid for most induced abortion claims. The results of the study showed that prior pregnancy loss is associated with a “modest but consistent elevation in severe maternal morbidity during a subsequent delivery.” With vaginal deliveries, the severe maternal morbidity rates increased from 0.817% to 1.28%; with cesarean deliveries, it was 2.61% to 3.8%.
Not only does this help inform our counseling and monitoring of future pregnancies for women with pregnancy loss, but clearly, women seeking induced abortion should be warned of its detrimental health effects not only in the short-term but also its potential impact on future pregnancies. This data also highlights the importance of knowing whether a woman is having a drug-induced abortion or a spontaneous pregnancy loss.
It is imperative that our patient care is informed by good data and that all medical professionals be held to basic standards of medical ethics, including fully informed consent, allowing patients appropriate time to make critical decisions, and respecting the lives of all of our patients.
