Concerned Women for America - Abortion’s Physical and Emotional Risks

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Abortion’s Physical and Emotional Risks 1/18/2003

At pro-abortion demonstrations across the nation, “Keep Abortion Safe and Legal” is the battle cry. That slogan’s roots reach back to the years before

Roe v. Wade. Before Roe, abortion advocates cited inflated statistics about the number of deaths due to supposed “back-alley” abortions. They argued that if abortion were decriminalized, then the procedure would become safe, and many women’s lives would be saved. Now, nearly 30 years after the Roe v. Wade decision, we can clearly see that this prediction has proven dead wrong.

“Any patient who has had a previous history of abortion should be regarded as a high-risk patient.”

—Medical researchers Margaret and Arthur Wynn, who support abortion-on-demand.

Regardless of the supposed “normalcy” of abortion, the procedure continues to pose countless physical and emotional risks to American women—sometimes even costing them their lives. And perhaps the greatest tragedy is that those who claim to represent women’s best interests are the first to ignore—and even try to hide—evidence of these dangers.

An Unregulated Industry

Abortion has become such a volatile political issue that legislators have been wary of placing basic health regulations on clinics. As a result, the abortion industry in America is largely unregulated. Practices that would never be tolerated in any other health care environment are “business as usual” in abortion clinics.

Because of the lack of regulations, abortion clinics have been known to operate with no one on staff who has current CPR training, no one qualified to administer anesthesia, and no functioning emergency equipment. Some clinics even store emergency medications past expiration dates and leave sterile surgical supply items in a dirty washroom. Such conditions would be a breeding ground for medical malpractice suits in any other kind of medical clinic.

Some facilities even employ doctors who have lost certification to practice in more regulated fields. Many have become bitter because of the stigma abortionists bear. And few show compassion for their frightened patients. One woman said that when she cried during her abortion, her doctor growled, “Shut up; you’re going to scare the girls out in the hall.”

Clinics that cater to the poor are particularly prone to bad conditions, because the poor and minorities are least likely to report problems, admits Dr. Albert Brown, an abortion doctor who was once reprimanded for an incomplete abortion. “[Latino women] are some of the best patients,” he told The Los Angeles Times. “They come in and they don’t complain. Sometimes they are given abortions when they are not even pregnant … It’s an unregulated industry.”

Regulations on abortion clinics vary from state to state. Even though most states have regulations on the books, they often are not effectively enforced. Seven states do not even specifically require a licensed physician to perform the abortion: Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia. And in the 44 other states that do, the regulations’ intent can be circumvented.

Examples:

· As of December 13, 1999, the Rhode Island Department of Health was finalizing new regulations allowing health-care practitioners to perform abortions also.

· Kentucky law allows for women to perform first-trimester abortions on themselves upon the advice of a physician.

· Oklahoma law allows a woman to induce an abortion upon herself under the supervision of a licensed physician.

· Washington, D.C., law permits abortions to be performed by a “licensed practitioner of medicine.”

In some states, the abortionist is the only person in the clinic required to have medical training. “The rest are just [people] off the street who happen to be avowed pro-choicers,” said Joan Appleton, a former abortion clinic nurse. Before Appleton moved to Minnesota, she had a positive image of the safety standards in America’s abortion clinics. Then she applied for a job at a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul. She was offered a job outside the clinic. “As a registered nurse, I was over-qualified to work in the abortion aspect of the business,” she said.

The political climate protects clinics from bad publicity and state inspections. After all, no politician wants to be called “anti-choice.” The Houston Chronicle reported in 1997 that a “veil of secrecy written into the state law covering abortion clinics” keeps the public from knowing if a clinic is under investigation. Becky Beechinor, who oversees abortion-clinic licensing for the state, told the Chronicle that she could not even confirm whether a particular clinic is licensed. What good are licensing and inspection requirements if the public is not allowed to know what violations are found, or even if inspections are taking place?

Surgical Risks

Discerning the risks of abortion has become tricky in the age of poor reporting and cover-ups. Reliable abortion statistics are hard to obtain. Today, 45 states have some sort of mandatory abortion-reporting requirement. But the negligent abortionist has little incentive to keep up with paperwork.

In the 1997 publication “Abortion Surveillance—United States, 1993-1994,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that in 1991, 13 women died as the result of abortion. But in that same paper, CDC admits that, due to underreporting, its calculations are likely low.

Other facts bear this out. Between the years 1981 and 1984, CDC reports 42 women died from abortion. However, former Commissioner of Health for New York City, Dr. Stephen Joseph, stated in a 1987 memo to doctors that during that same period 176 women died as the result of abortion in the United States—30 in New York alone.

Risks of health complications can be quite high, according to Dr. Slava V. Gaufberg, research director at Harvard University Medical School. He noted in the online medical textbook Emergency Medicine that the rate of complications in second- trimester abortions is “up to 50 percent and higher.” But tracking the complications is not easy in the current political climate.

One problem that skews statistics on abortion complications, even if states require it and abortionists honestly comply, is that paperwork reflects only complications occurring at the time of the abortion.

In an effort to gather accurate statistics on abortion complications in Virginia, state Delegate Robert Marshall, R-Manassas, surveyed 1,087 obstetricians and emergency room physicians in 1990. Only 75 responded. But even this low response rate documented 230 abortion complications in Virginia during 1989. More than half (127) were reported 24 hours or more after the abortion. In these instances, the abortion doctor didn’t report an immediate complication. But an emergency room physician or personal doctor was left to try to fix the problem, circumstances which often are not reported as abortion-related.

“I have three sisters with breast cancer, and I resent people messing with scientific data to further their own agenda, be they pro-choice or pro-life. I would have loved to have found no association between breast cancer and abortion, but our research is rock solid, and our data is accurate. It’s not a matter of believing. It’s a matter of what is.”

—Dr. Janet Daling, who is pro-choice.

Another common complication results when the aborted baby’s remains, a limb or part of the skull, is left in the uterus. If this occurs, or if some of the placenta is left, infection may result. Considering immediate and long-term complications, a major German study found that the total rate of infections following vacuum aspiration abortions exceeded 31 percent.

Other complications range from injuries to the intestines and the urinary tract, problems with anesthesia, ectopic pregnancy, heart failure and embolism. Sterility is another risk women face if they undergo abortions. Studies have found that 3 to 5 percent of all women who have had abortions are left sterile. Often, women must undergo hysterectomies because of damage to the reproductive organs.

The “ABC” Link

Many are unaware of the link between abortion and breast cancer (ABC link). Many studies scientifically demonstrate the link. Still, abortion advocates insist on burying their heads in the sand and attempting to explain away the evidence. However, breast cancer is potentially deadly, and we simply cannot ignore the added risk abortion poses.

According to Dr. Joel Brind, the leading expert on the ABC link, 13 of 14 American studies to date—eight of which are statistically significant—show that women who have an abortion increase their risk for breast cancer. Worldwide, 27 of 34 studies demonstrate the link, 17 of which are statistically significant.

Dr. Brind is a professor of biology and endocrinology at Baruch College of the City University of New York. He is also the president of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute in Poughkeepsie, New York. His noteworthy article, “Induced Abortion as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Review and Meta-Analysis,” written in collaboration with colleagues at the Penn State College of Medicine, appeared in the October 1996 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health by the British Medical Association. In this study, he found a significant 30 percent increased risk for breast cancer for women who had one or more induced abortions.

“There is a clear relationship documented in medical journals showing that women who abort their first pregnancy are at a much higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who carry their pregnancy to term,” stated Dr. Brind. In fact, the two latest American studies illustrate this, thus exhibiting consistency with past studies’ findings. From Dr. Pamela Marcus’ study, Dr. Brind calculated an approximate 20 percent increased risk for breast cancer. Dr. DeAnn Lazovich’s study demonstrated a nonsignificant increased risk of 10 percent. The authors state that “the low prevalence of induced abortion argues for a cautious interpretation” of the results. But Dr. Brind notes that, in light of the study’s consistency with past findings such “caution” is not warranted.

Dr. Janet Daling, of the respected Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is not the only pro-choice individual who respects the data illustrating the link. The first World Conference on Breast Cancer convened in Ontario, Canada, in July 1997. It was co-founded by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, which was chaired at the time by the late militant feminist Bella Abzug. Dr. Brind led a seminar on the ABC link—and Abzug attended. The Global Action Plan issued a year later stated: “Prolonged use of the birth control pills [sic], late or lack of pregnancies and breast-feeding, induced termination of pregnancies … all are cited as risk factors for increased estrogens and breast cancer [emphasis added].”

Even an expert hired by pro-abortion Planned Parenthood admitted the ABC link in court testimony. When asked whether a 15-year-old is more likely to contract breast cancer if she has an abortion than if she gives birth, Lynn Rosenberg, Sc.D., replied, “Probably, yes.”

The Emotional Fallout

Although the physical risks of abortion are daunting, the emotional effects are every bit as painful and enduring. Discovering Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS) has changed the thinking of many abortion advocates.

The American Journal of Psychiatry reported that of 500 post-abortive women studied, 43 percent showed immediate negative responses. That number grew to 50 percent in a later review. Additionally, up to 10 percent of the women surveyed were classified as having developed “serious psychiatric complications.”

“Since abortion was legalized, I have seen hundreds of patients who have had the operation,” one doctor comments. “Approximately 10 percent expressed very little or no concern … Among the other 90 percent there were all shades of distress, anxiety, heartache and remorse.”

Nancyjo Mann, founder of Women Exploited by Abortion (WEBA), described her saline abortion as emotionally destructive. Seven months later, at the age of 22, Nancyjo had a total hysterectomy due to abortion complications. Her life plummeted into drugs, depression, promiscuity and prostitution. Shortly after her transformation in 1981, she founded WEBA.

Many more women suffer in silence, afraid to tell anyone about their pain because of abortion’s social stigma. And women are not the only ones who suffer.

The Other Victims

Rarely addressed segments of post-abortive sufferers are men and children. Carol Everett, who ran an abortion clinic in Dallas—and who had an abortion herself—has seen abortion ravage her entire family.

She writes:

The destruction is against the family unit, not just the baby and the mother, but the entire family … It is a shame that others have suffered for my sin … Tom’s [the baby’s father] life had been altered, too.

Until recently, the large number of men suffering from abortion has been dismissed. “Men everywhere report that abortion is a horrendous and heartbreaking experience, whether they oppose or support the decision to abort,” said Wayne Brauning, the founder of MARC (Men’s Abortion ReCovery) Ministries. “They are angry … feel guilty and powerless … They have problems relating to women and children. One man had been an alcoholic and committed various crimes for which he served time, but he said the worst thing he had ever done was to encourage his girlfriend to have an abortion.”

Abortion Affects Kids:

“When the child hears mother has gotten rid of baby brother or sister, for whatever reason, this makes him dread things in the home … Mother becomes an agent of death instead of an agent of life.”

The children of women who have had abortions also suffer. Instead of ridding the nation of child abuse by eliminating “unwanted” children, reports of child abuse have skyrocketed since the courts began to permit abortion in America. This pattern of increased abuse has also appeared in Canada, Britain and Japan. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop writes, “In 1972, there were 60,000 [reported] child-abuse incidents … Just four years later, the number … passed the half million mark. Child abuse is the fifth most frequent cause of death among children.” According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, just under 1 million children were victims of substantiated or indicated child abuse and neglect in 1997. Further, 41 states reported that 967 children were known to have died as a result of abuse or neglect, and that number only includes those cases reported to child protective services agencies.

Dr. Philip Ney, a professor of psychiatry, has concluded that abortion is linked to child abuse. He found that “maternal bonding instincts are weakened by the deliberate denial of maternal attraction which must take place in an abortion.” After all, if it is acceptable to abuse one’s offspring before birth, why not after birth as well?

“The abortion mentality reinforces the attitude of treating children like objects, objects that can be wanted or unwanted according to whether ‘it’ satisfies parental needs,” wrote David Reardon in Aborted Women. C. Henry Kempe, a child abuse expert, explains, “Basic in the abuser’s attitude toward infants is the conviction, largely unconscious, that children exist in order to satisfy parental needs.”

The psychological impact of abortion on siblings is also significant. Dr. Edward Sheridan has provided therapy for abortion-traumatized siblings for over 30 years. “If no explanation is given [for the abortion], this confusion may lead the child to somehow feel personally responsible for the loss,” he says. “On the other hand, if the child becomes aware that the mother actively chose to ‘get rid’ of the sibling, he often begins to fear her.”

Permanent Scar

While the physical and emotional risks of abortion are concerning, the most critical risk is spiritual destruction. Both men and women experience soul-deep scars.

“When I went [to my pastor] afterwards and asked why I felt so dirty, he said, ‘God forgives.’ I asked God to forgive me, and my pastor said He did,” writes Judith Evans, who now works in a post-abortion healing program. “But I didn’t feel forgiven. I still felt unclean and undeserving.

“I participated in a ten-week post-abortion healing program. At the end, we held a memorial service. We named our babies and entrusted them to God. By formally recognizing their humanity, we were able to complete our grieving process … My children are alive in heaven with Christ. It was a sign, too, of my forgiveness and my hope.”

The toll on men is also grievous. “I lived my life to get what I could … [my girlfriend and I] conceived a child, and … I wanted the baby dead,” says David Keating, a post-abortive father. “Whether my baby had felt any pain was irrelevant; I had killed a human life. And so I began to make plans to kill myself in return.

“Time passed, and the guilt of my hands grew unbearable … I humbled myself one night and asked God to forgive me, and He did … I asked my pastor to take me through a funeral for my baby. I told my baby that I was sorry, and I asked her to forgive me … Praise God. ‘He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10).”

Abortion is not, has never been, and never will be safe. It violates the natural order and goes against God’s will. On the contrary, it comes with a very high price attached—the price of women’s physical and emotional well-being and the psychological health of the entire family. Abortion hurts the lives of everyone it touches.

Revised: January 2003