Moira Gaul at The Family Research Council reports that two new studies published in peer-reviewed journals continue to link abortion and negative mental health effects:
The first paper [PDF], published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research,
analyzed data from the
National Comorbidity Survey, the most
comprehensive national dataset on the prevalence of
psychological
disorders, was analyzed to explore associations between abortion
history and mental health. Abortion was found to be associated with an
increased risk of a number of mental health problems including: panic
attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, post traumatic stress disorder,
bipolar disorder, and major depression. The four study authors presented their research on topic at a panel discussion at the Family Research Council in October 2008.
The second paper
[PDF], written by New Zealand researcher David Fergusson, analyzed data
from a 30-year longitudinal study. The methodology, analysis
employing
two types of models of for concurrent and long-term health effects,
strong control for confounding variables, and comparison groups were
all strengths of the study. The results indicated abortion to be
associated with an increased risk of mental disorders, including major
depression, anxiety disorder, illicit drug dependence, and suicide
ideation.
Also making news yesterday was a review paper published by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. In their own press release the university/dept. cited the review paper as the most rigorous review of the literature to date which purported that "studies with the most flawed methodology found negative mental health sequelae of abortion." This is an insult to Johns Hopkins as a credible academic research institution. The exclusion of numerous studies published in peer-reviewed journals was a gaping omission. The ties of senior author Robert Blum to the Alan Guttmacher Institute as a board member and previous board chair as well as the funding of the university's department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, where three of the four study authors work, by Planned Parenthood of Maryland, serve as evidence of the political motivation behind the publishing of the study. Johns Hopkins should be admonished for stamping such sham science.
Women are increasingly coming forward to share about the negative impact abortion has played in their lives. Clinicians treating women for mental health disorders are increasingly stepping forward to tell the truth about the large numbers seeking treatment due to the fallout from abortion. The repeated lies from the pro-abortion community that abortion is a nonevent or somehow "therapeutic" in women's lives is being dispelled and the truth clearly elucidated by scientific findings.