Thursday, December 4, 2008

Abortion NOT linked to depression  

6 comments
When I saw this article, I literally cried out, "Yes!" MSNBC.com posted an article arguing that abortion is not linked to depression, contrary to what anti-choicers will try to tell you about "post-abortion stress syndrome." Well, science says: it doesn't exist!

Studies on this have been done before. Cristina Page writes about it in her book, "How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America." A study done by the American Psychological Association found that women who had abortions were actually happier when compared to women who gave birth. They seemed to be functioning better, have a higher economic well-being, and were more likely to graduate high school. The study that MSNBC writes about was much larger than the APA study, and it proved the same thing:

A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reviewed 21 studies involving more than 150,000 women and found the high-quality studies showed no significant differences in long-term mental health between women who choose to abort a pregnancy and others.

"The best research does not support the existence of a 'post-abortion syndrome' similar to post-traumatic stress disorder," Dr. Robert Blum, who led the study published in the journal Contraception, said in a statement.

Any "studies" that anti-choice organizations claim support "post-abortion stress syndrome" were either conducted in an extremely flawed way, or were not conducted at all. Take that.

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6 comments: to “ Abortion NOT linked to depression


  • December 4, 2008 at 4:28 PM  

    I still maintain that these studies were conducted in a misleading and biased manner. All of these studies failed to use more than 1,000 subjects, whereas the study MSNBC published used OVER 150,000 WOMEN! I'd say I'm more likely to believe that one.

    Of course there are going to be women who experience sadness after getting an abortion - no one is claiming that it isn't an emotionally taxing procedure. But on a bigger scale, reliable research has shown over and over again that there are no long-term mental effects.


  • December 4, 2008 at 4:43 PM  

    Granted I'm not a credible researcher, but I wouldn't be surprised if the women who DID develop mental health problems did so because of the shame and guilt caused by SOCIETY'S view of women who have had abortions. Not because of the abortion itself.

    Just my two cents.


  • December 4, 2008 at 5:12 PM  

    It's true. Many women develop depression because they are ostracized by their communities or their families for having an abortion. The abortion itself is not the root problem.

    The second study that Steve posted was conducted in the town of Christchurch. No surprise that the women of this town were struggling with mental health issues when dealing with having an abortion in a conservative religious environment.


  • December 5, 2008 at 6:49 PM  

    Have you never heard of a suprious correlation?

    Just because there appears to be a correlation does not mean there is a correlation. Aside from the fact that these studies are obviously woefully biased, did they take into consideration the large social stigma that women who have abortions are exposed to? Could it not be that it is the stigma of abortion and not abortion itself that leads to depression and anxiety?

    Vilifying abortion is just an excuse to try to hold women down.


  • December 10, 2008 at 1:08 PM  

    As a recent aborter, I'm happy as a clam, though still a bit crampy from time to time. http://prochoiceabortionblog.blogspot.com/
    Stevie, buddy, your prolife friends love making that shit up. And it's bullshit when the scientist sets out to prove their agenda like that- thats not how science is done. And wait- what were the sample sizes?? Because I'm guessing your friends aren't even close to 150,000. Now THAT's a study.


  • December 10, 2008 at 1:13 PM  

    O stevie, I think they wanted you to know! "...studies with the most flawed methodology consistently found negative mental health consequences of abortion," they added.