Abortion may be simple as a medical procedure, but the effects it has on the woman are extremely detrimental. According to a 2011 study by Pricilla Coleman published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, having an abortion increases the risk of mental health problems by up to 81%.
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| The decision is not easy and the outcomes are at times fatal |
For the research, 22 studies and 36 measures of effect were looked into. In total, the study had 877, 181 participants, 163, 831 of whom had experienced abortion. The results were shocking! The women who had undergone abortion had an 81% increased risk of developing mental problems and nearly 10% of all the 877,181 mental health problems were as a result of an abortion.
These finding echoed the results of another Finland study published in 1997, where the suicide rate among women who had undergone abortions in the prior year was found to be three times higher compared to women in the general population and six times higher compared to women who gave birth.
The Finland study looked into women who had committed suicide between 1987 and 1994. Of the 9192 deaths of women of child-bearing age that were studied, 1347 had suicide as the main cause of death. Of those, 73 suicides were found to be pregnancy related. This represented 5.4% of all suicides in women of this age. And while the suicide rate associated with birth was at a low of 5.9, the rates associated with miscarriages was 3 times higher at 18.1 and that associated with induced abortion was at a high of 34.7; 6 times higher than that of women who had given birth!
This particular study concluded that the increased risk of suicide after abortion could either indicate common risk factors for both or the harmful effects that induced abortions have on women’s mental health.
Another U.S study looked into records of 173,000 women and concluded that women who had abortion were 2.6 times more likely to commit suicide than women who had given birth. The same study showed that giving birth reduced the risk of suicide in women compared to the general population.
Pro-abortion campaigns could be to blame as they invalidate the feelings of guilt that these women obviously feel. The reality and the pain of their decision is an issue that needs to be dealt with for there to be healing and for the mental trauma to be alleviated.
Until we see each other again,
