Does abortion harm women?Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, a kinda' pro-life Republican who has supported taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research, may be looking to reclaim the support of pro-life citizens in his state by creating a task force to answer this simple question.
Cheryl Wetzstein, writing in the Washington Times, examines the matter in a balanced and informative article. An excerpt is printed below but I'm sure you'll find value in reading the piece in its entirety.
...Nearly 20 years have passed, and research has led to general agreement that abortion can lead to complications such as bleeding, tears, perforations, injury to the cervix, pelvic infections, incomplete abortions and blood clots. Abortions — especially if done late-term or multiple times — can also be linked to menstrual irregularities and Asherman's syndrome, a condition in which scar tissue prevents pregnancy.
But complications are rare, say pro-choice groups, citing data from Guttmacher Institute. Of women who get early abortions, 97 percent report no complications, and of those that do, only 0.5 percent report serious problems.
If abortion-related deaths and complications are rare, why investigate abortion's effects on women's health? The answer lies in new research that raises questions about abortion's links to mental health problems, premature birth and breast cancer.
A 2003 review of 60 international studies found evidence that abortion increased risks for breast cancer, depression, suicide, and premature birth, said Dr. Elizabeth Shadigian, co-author of the review.
A 2000 study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that 1 percent of women who had early abortions suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Because more than 1 million U.S. abortions occur each year, "that's more than 10,000 women a year," Dr. Miriam Grossman wrote in her book, "Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student."
In April, the Supreme Court raised the mental health issue in its Gonzales v. Carhart ruling that upheld the ban on so-called partial-birth abortion.
"While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon," the court said, "it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow."...
