Women suffer in multiple ways from abortion, reveals new analysis of research WHA urged to focus on improved maternal health care

GENEVA, Switzerland — Legalized abortion is widely touted as beneficial to women, but a wealth of medical and psychological evidence suggests otherwise, according to a new analysis of decades of research.  The analysis was released today at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Global Outreach (MCCL GO) and National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund (NRLC), an NGO based in Washington, D.C.  Jeanne E. Head, R.N., Patrick Buckley and Scott Fischbach who are in Geneva introducing the analysis, are calling for a renewed emphasis on providing women with improved maternal health care.

“Women face numerous risks with abortion, legal or illegal, and those risks are substantially greater in the developing world,” said Jeanne Head, R.N., National Right to Life vice-president for international affairs and U.N. representative.  “Yet some in the international community have focused their resources primarily on legalizing abortion at the expense of women’s lives and health.”

“The evidence is overwhelming: Abortion is dangerous for women,” said MCCL GO Executive Director Scott Fischbach.  “Abortion is by its very nature a violent and damaging procedure.”

“Rather than legalize or promote abortion, governments should protect the equal dignity and basic rights of all human beings, including women and their unborn children,” said Patrick Buckley, Geneva main representative for the U.K. Society for the Protection of Unborn Children.

The analysis, “How Abortion Hurts Women,” provides an overview of extensive research from multiple countries into the risks of abortion.  Documented complications include hemorrhage, infection, cervical damage, uterine perforation, pelvic disease and retained fetal or placental tissue.  Large record-based studies from Finland, Denmark and the United States found that maternal mortality rates were significantly higher after abortion compared to childbirth.

Long-term risks of abortion, including subsequent preterm birth, infertility, cancer, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and placenta previa, can substantially impede future reproductive success.  In addition, abortion is associated with increased risk of negative psycho-social consequences.  For example, a 2011 meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found an 81 percent increased risk of mental health problems.  Anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use and suicidal behaviors have been found to increase following abortion, along with damage to key relationships.

In the developing world, these dangers increase where basic maternal health care is unavailable.  Ms. Head explains: “The incidence of maternal mortality is mainly determined by the quality of maternal health care.  Legalization does not improve outcomes, but only increases the number of women subjected to the risks of abortion.”

MCCL GO and National Right to Life called upon the WHA to focus its resources on the improvement of women’s health care in the developing world.

“We call upon the WHA to acknowledge that abortion needlessly puts women at serious risk, both physically and psychologically,” Mr. Fischbach added.  “We urge the World Health Assembly to adopt measures that protect women from abortion and improve women’s health care.”

The analysis is available in English, French and Spanish at the MCCL GO website, www.mccl-go.org.  Copies are available at the WHA Geneva conference by calling Mr. Fischbach on 001-320-492-9062.

MCCL GO is a pro-life global outreach program of the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Education Fund with one goal: to save as many innocent lives as possible from the destruction of abortion.  Learn more at www.mccl-go.org.  Please subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Founded in 1968, National Right to Life, the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation's oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Legislators who support abortion are excommunicating themselves.

The new Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh and next Catholic primate of Ireland Eamon Martin has said politicians who “knowingly introduce legislation aiding and abetting abortion” should not “approach [a priest] looking for communion”. See Sunday Times Report

In the clearest statement so far on the church’s position Archbishop Eamon Martin, who will succeed Cardinal Seán Brady next year, said legislators who support abortion are excommunicating themselves.

“You cannot regard yourself as a person of faith and support abortion,” Martin said in an interview with The Sunday Times. “You cannot believe you are with your church and directly help someone to procure an abortion. This includes medical professionals and the legislators.

“If a legislator comes to me and says, ‘Can I be a faithful Catholic and support abortion?’ I would say no. Your communion is ruptured if you support abortion. You are excommunicating yourself. Any legislator who clearly and publicly states this should not approach looking for communion.”

Appeal to Minister Reilly to reconsider his position on abortion

Geneva Monday 20^th May, meeting with James Reilly attending the World Health Assembly as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU. ELN’s Patrick Buckley approached Minister Reilly and following introductions appealed to him to reconsider his position on abortion.

Minister Reilly was presented with information on the right to life of the unborn and the consequences of abortion for women's health.

When his officials realised he was being lobbied on the abortion issue they hastily intervened and rushed him away saying that he was already late for a meeting. 

The information given to Minister Reilly on the right to life confirmed the scientific fact a new human life begins at conception and is a continuum advancing through all stages until natural death and that at all points of development each individual is a living member of the human species homo sapiens.

• That from conception each unborn child is by nature a human being and as a member of the human family is entitled to recognition of his/her inherent dignity and to protection of his/her inalienable human rights which are recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other international instruments.

• That justice requires that governments protect the basic rights of every member of the human family and that the law should therefore protect unborn human beings just as it protects each of us. Any policy that permits the killing of unborn children is gravely unjust. 

The information given to Minister Reilly on the consequences of abortion for women's health, confirmed that there is no such right as a right to abortion under international law, either by way of treaty obligation or under customary international law.

• That evidence shows that legalizing abortion usually increases the number of abortions that occur. In the United States, the number of abortions rose from an estimated 98,000 per year to a peak of 1.6 million following total legalization in 1973 and that more than 54 million abortions have been performed in the US since that time.

• That abortion—even in countries with excellent maternal health care—poses serious risks to women, which are well documented.

• That possible physical complications of surgical abortion include hemorrhage, infection, cervical laceration, and uterine perforation. non-surgical or chemical (ru486) abortion can cause severe pain, cramping, nausea, hemorrhage, infection, and incomplete abortion.

• That these complications are sometimes so serious they result in the death of the mother.

• That the possible long-term effects of abortion include sterility, miscarriage, premature birth, an increased risk of breast cancer, and ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, which can lead to death if not treated promptly.

• That abortion can also have numerous psycho- social consequences, including grief, depression, drug abuse, and relationship problems. Many women (and men) now regret their decision to have or participate in an abortion.

“the inclusion of suicidality within the legislation may [...] lead to an increase in demand for termination [...]"

Fine Gael back benchers are likely to increase the pressure on the Government to alter the provisions for suicide in the draft abortion legislation after the emergence

of key divisions between the masters of the country's two main maternity hospitals.

The first day of the current Oireachtas health committee hearings on Friday highlighted sharp divisions in the evidence presented to it  by the Masters of Irelands main maternity hospitals. Dr Sam Coulter Smith Master of the Rotunda Hospital questioned the inclusion of suicidal intent as grounds for abortion.

He also said the provision of suicide raised ethical dilemmas for doctors and could lead to a rise in the number of women in Ireland looking for a termination, and he was critical of the absence of a gestational time limit.

Dr Coulter Smith told the committee.

“Our psychiatric colleagues tell us that there is currently no available evidence to show that termination of pregnancy is a treatment for suicidal ideation or intent and, as obstetricians, we are required to provide and practice evidence-based treatment,”

Coulter Smith also said in his view and the view of many of his colleagues;

 “the inclusion of suicidality within the legislation may, and I stress may, in the long-term lead to an increase in demand for termination in this country.” 

Dr Coulter's Smith's evidence was in sharp contrast to that from Dr Rhona Mahony, the Master of the National Maternity Hospital, who supported the suicide clause in the legislation. She said a woman who was intent on suicide was indeed at risk of dying, and needed to be assessed appropriately, believed, and provided with expert psychiatric care.

The issues raised by Dr Coulter Smith, one of Ireland's most experienced obstetricians, are expected to place additional pressure on the Fine Gael party and Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Many Fine Gael TD’s have reservations about the Government's draft legislation on abortion, particularly the inclusion of a suicide clause and there is strong pressure for amendments to the proposed legislation to drop the issue of suicide and for the inclusion of a provision for legal representation for the unborn and a time limit for terminations of pregnancies.

There is no doubt that the evidence given by Dr Coulter Smith is evidence based as there are a number of major national and international studies which support his submissions.

A large record based study in Finland that linked actual death certificates to medical records, reported a 650% higher risk of suicide after abortion compared to women who carried to term. Gissler M et al. Suicides after pregnancy in Finland: 1987-1994: register linkage study. British Medical Journal 1996; 313:143,4.

A records based UK study comparing suicide attempts before and after abortion indicated the increase in suicide rates after abortion was not related to prior suicidal behaviour but was most likely related to adverse reactions to the abortion

Morgan CM et al. Suicides after pregnancy: mental health may deteriorate as a direct result of abortion. British Medical Journal 1997: 314-902

A study of more than 173,000 California Medicaid records showed an increased rate of suicide that persisted for 8 years, not explained by prior mental illness.

Reardon DC et al. Deaths associated with pregnancy outcome: a record linkage study of low-income women. Southern Medical Journal 2002; 95(8): 834-841

The proposed legislation is ill conceived and can only lead to abortion on demand. The best solution would be for the Government to abandon its plans and retain the status quo.

New report on human cloning and production of embryonic stem cells

According to news reports there has been a new breakthrough in human cloning using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) which has been used to clone an embryo or embryos for the production of stem cells. US scientists claim that this marks a "significant step" for medicine. A team at the Oregon Health and Science University, according reports, have developed the embryo to the blastocyst stage - around 150 cells – which they claim is enough to provide a source of embryonic stem cells.

This practice however is completely unethical in that living human embryos are being deliberately brought into being and then destroyed in the process of stem cell production.

The study, published in the journal Cell says the methods used were similar to those  used by Ian Wilmut to clone Dolly the sheep in the UK.

According to the reports the cloned embryos were used as a source of stem cells, which, according to the report, can in theory make new heart muscle, bone, brain tissue or any other type of cell in the body.  Major problems have been experienced in the past however in the manipulation of embryonic stem cells in mice, resulting in cancerous growths where the stem cells were injected.

The United Nations General Assembly in 2005  approved an International Convention against this kind of research in which it called on all member states to “prohibit all forms of human cloning inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life. (A/59/516/Add.1)
This kind of research known as therapeutic cloning is not only unethical it is unsafe and is also unnecessary because of the significant progress made in recent years in the production of adult stem cells and their use in treating many ailments.

Some adult/umbilical cord stem cell treatments are now used in routine clinical practice. But most remain experimental. For example, trials are currently underway in human patients with "severe" multiple sclerosis using the patients' own blood stem cells. After three years, the study reported, adult stem cells were "able to induce a prolonged clinical stabilization in severe progressive MS patients," meaning the disease stopped advancing, "resulting in both sustained treatment-free periods and quality-of-life improvements."
Another area of great hope for adult stem cell therapy comes from using a patient's olfactory tissues, found in the nasal cavity, to treat paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. Peer-reviewed animal studies previously highlighted great potential for this technique. For example, olfactory tissues have "promoted partial restoration of function" in paralyzed rats.

This new report follows a number of previous bogus claims that stem cells have been produced by SCNT, the most infamous one being that made by the disgraced South Korean scientist, Hwang Woo-suk, who also claimed to have created stem cells from cloned human embryos, but was found to have faked the evidence.

Similar reports are repeated with such regularity that they have now almost become a mantra: "Embryonic stem cells" we are told "offer the most promise for finding cures" for degenerative diseases and conditions such as Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injury. Continually repeating something however doesn't make it true and time will tell whether this new claim is actually real or another bogus claim in order to attract funding for the unethical research.