Study: No such thing as an abortion-depression link

[ck4829]

No high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome," and efforts to show it does occur appear to be politically motivated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

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.

"Based on the best available evidence, emotional harm should not be a factor in abortion policy. If the goal is to help women, program and policy decisions should not distort science to advance political agendas," added Vignetta Charles, a researcher and doctoral student at Johns Hopkins who worked on the study.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081204/hl_nm/us_abortion_depression

The goal of the anti-choice movement is not to help women, it's basically to get government small enough so it can fit inside the bodies of women.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. but post-partum depression is well documented

so let's stop having babies...or maybe risk-assessments to determine the likelihood of suffering PPD before allowing a person to have a baby...

sorry...just playing around a little...

i am torn on this issue. i can certainly agree with the facts presented in the study that there is no causal link...however, my anecdotal experience with women who have had terminated pregnancies (either through nature or medical intervention) would suggest otherwise, at least in the short term (for maybe 3 to 6 months)...i have no doubt that abortion does NOT cause long term depression...

sP

[sinkingfeeling]

2. No kidding. I've always thought those who claimed 'post-abortion syndrome' were made to feel guilty

about their choice by their families or churches.

[Kalyke]

3. I'd think there'd be more of an abortion-elation link.

In today's economy, not being forced to feed another mouth or shell out the bucks on health care before and after pregnancy would take a lot of stress off a person.

(Sorry if that was crass, but it's based in fact).

[gollygee]

4. I know someone who got depressed after having an abortion

but she didn't want an abortion and her parents made her have one - so it was an issue of her choice being taken away from her. Every woman has the right to make this decision for herself.

Most women I've known who have talked about having abortions say they felt relief afterward, not depression.