TEENS COPE WITH UNWANTED BIRTHS BETTER THAN ABORTION: NEW STUDY

TEENS COPE WITH UNWANTED BIRTHS BETTER THAN ABORTION: NEW STUDY

National Study Finds Teens Who Abort Are More Likely to
Experience Subsequent Mental Health Problems Compared to
Those Who Give Birth


Springfield, IL (Aug. 10, 2006) -- Adolescent girls who
abort unintended pregnancies are five times more likely to
seek subsequent help for psychological and emotional
problems compared to their peers who carry unwanted
pregnancies to term, according to a new nationally
representative study published in the "Journal of Youth and
Adolescence".

Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a research psychologist at Bowling
Green State University, also found that adolescents who had
abortions were also over three times more likely to report
subsequent trouble sleeping, and nine times more likely to
report subsequent marijuana use. The results were compiled
after examining 17 other control variables, like prior
mental health history and family factors, that might also
influence subsequent mental health.

The data was drawn from a federally-funded longitudinal
study of adolescents from throughout the U.S. who
participated in two series of interviews in 1995 and 1996.
About 76 percent of girls who had abortions and 80 percent
of girls who gave birth were between the ages of 15 and 19
during the survey, with the remainder being younger.

Researcher Dr. David Reardon, who has contributed to more
than a dozen studies examining psychological outcomes after
abortion, said that Coleman's study was particularly
important because it examines pregnancy "wantedness," in
addition to a large number of other control variables.

"Over the last six years, numerous studies have conclusively
linked higher rates of mental illness and behavioral
problems associated with abortion compared to childbirth."
said Reardon. "But abortion advocates have generally
dismissed these findings, insisting that while women who
abort may fare worse than women who give birth to planned
children, they may fare better than the important subgroup
of women who carry unintended pregnancies to term.
Coleman's study addresses this argument and shows that the
facts don't support abortion advocates' speculations."

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which tracks
abortion statistics throughout the U.S., about a quarter of
the abortions that take place each year are performed on
girls younger than 20. Previous studies have found that
younger abortion patients may be more likely to experience
difficulties coping after abortion compared to older women,
perhaps because they are more likely to be pressured into
unwanted abortions or to undergo abortions later in the
pregnancy, leading to more physical and emotional risk.

A 2004 survey of American and Russian women published in the
"Medical Science Monitor" found that 64 percent of American
women reported that they felt pressured into abortion.
Coleman said that for teens, the pressure probably comes
from the fact that they are more likely to be perceived as
unready to be parents and that abortion is often seen by
those around them as the best solution.

"When women feel forced into abortion by others or by life
circumstances, negative post-abortion outcomes become more
common," she rote. "Adolescents are generally much less
prepared to assume the responsibility of parenthood and are
logically the recipients of pressure to abort."

Coleman pointed out that, while having a child as a teen may
be problematic, "the risks of terminating seem to be even
more pronounced." Other studies comparing outcomes for
abortion versus delivery of unintended pregnancies have
found higher rates of clinical depression,anxiety, and
substance abuse among women who abort, while studies that
did not look only at unplanned pregnancies also find that
women who aborted are at increased risk for suicidal
behavior, psychiatric problems, symptoms of post-traumatic
stress, and sleep disorders, which are often linked to
trauma.

While previous studies have often been criticized for
methodological shortcomings, studies that have come out in
the last several years have been designed to address those
problems and have gone through vigorous scrutiny from
peer-review panels before publication, she added.

"The scientific evidence is now strong and compelling,"
Coleman said. "Abortion poses more risks to women than
giving birth."

Reardon, who directs the Springfield, IL-based Elliot
Institute, also said that while there has been a
long-standing assumption that such problems are related to
mental health problems that existed before abortion, a
large-scale study conducted in New Zealand last year found
that this wasn't the case.

"The standard theory has been that women who have problems
coping after abortion were probably already mentally
unstable and therefore more likely to be even worse off if
they continued the pregnancy," he said. "The researchers in
New Zealand thought that their study would confirm this
theory, so they specifically controlled for pre-existing
mental health problems. What they found, however, was that
women who were mentally stable before abortion were still
more likely to experience mental health problems after
abortion."

Although the pregnancy rate among American teens has dropped
steadily in the past few decades, among developed countries
the U.S. still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and
childbirth. In her paper, Coleman highlighted a need for
additional research on this issue. She pointed out that
while "hundreds of thousands" of teens experience an
unintended pregnancy each year, her study is one of only a
few to examine the impact of abortion on women versus the
impact of carrying to term, all of which have indicated
worse outcomes associated with abortion.

Reardon echoed the call for more research, as well as the
need for medical and mental health professionals to be
attuned to the risks of abortion and present women and
teens with accurate information about the physical and
psychological effects of the procedure.

"The findings that are emerging show that abortion leads to
negative outcomes for many women, regardless of whether the
pregnancy was planned or wanted," Reardon said. "Indeed, not
a single study has ever shown statistically significant
benefits associated with abortion compared to birth. In
terms of maximizing women's health and well-being, the
scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that birth is
preferable to abortion."

***

Source:

Priscilla K. Coleman, "Resolution of Unwanted Pregnancy
During Adolescence Through Abortion Versus Childbirth:
Individual and Family Predictors and Psychological
Consequences," Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2006).

Additional Studies:

VM Rue et. al., "Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A
preliminary comparison of American and Russian women,"
Medical Science Monitor 10(10): SR5-16 (2004).

David M. Fergusson, et. al., "Abortion in young women and
subsequent mental health," Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry 47(1): 16-24 (2006).

Elliot Institute
PO Box 7348
Springfield
IL 62791
United States
www.afterabortion.info