Abortion and Mental Health Controversy Reignited by New Study

David C. Reardon
September 2, 2011
Reproduced with Permission

Up to 10 percent of mental health problems among women may be affected by a history of abortion, according to a new review published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in their British Journal of Psychiatry.

Publication of this new review, which included 877,181 women from six countries, has reawakened accusations that the American Psychological Association Task Force on Abortion and Mental Health deliberately understated abortion's mental health risks for ideological reasons.

On the surface, the findings of the new review appear to contradict the conclusions published by the task force in in 2008, which stated that a "single abortion" of an "unwanted" pregnancy for an "adult" woman did not "in and of itself" pose significant mental health risks.

According to an expert in the field, Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, that carefully nuanced conclusion was designed to obscure rather than clarify the risks of abortion.

"When you study the details of the APA report, you will notice that they provide only scant information on the statistics reported in each study," he said. " And they certainly never lay the findings side by side as was done in this new meta-analysis. Still, if you pay close attention you will find reluctant admissions that certain subgroups of women are at higher risk."

Continue Reading: http://afterabortion.org/2011/abortion-and-mental-health-controversy-reignited-by-new-study/

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