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15 / 08 / 2008 - Women Hurting From Abortions Say APA Report Discounts Their Experiences
Washington, DC -- A national organization for women who have had abortions and regret their decisions says a new report from the American Psychological Association discounts their experiences. They say millions of women know first-hand how abortion has devastating emotional and psychological consequences.
Leaders of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign told LifeNews.com they take issue with the APA report claiming abortion is "not a threat to women's mental health."
"The American Psychological Association's so-called study is nothing more than a conclusion supported by opinions screened to match that predetermined outcome," says Georgette Forney, a co-founder of the group.
Forney knows from personal experience about the negative effects of an abortion as she had one as a teenager. She has dealt with her own emotions and those of friends and family and says the APA should have put more stock in people like her.
"The APA ignored or downplayed large, peer-reviewed studies showing a clear link between abortion and subsequent problems such as depression," she said. "Professionalism and intellectual honesty are not concepts I would associate with this report."
Janet Morana, also a co-founder of the post-abortion group says the APA declined to meet with hundreds of women who asked to share their experiences.
"Over 600 post-abortive women asked to meet with the APA about their experiences with abortion and depression," she told LifeNews.com. "The APA brushed them off, just like it dismissed any scientific study that didn't agree with its agenda."
For Morana, the APA isn't operating like a body of researchers who dispassionately want to find the answers to serious questions like abortion's aftereffects. Instead, she says it is acting like a pro-abortion political group doing the bidding of abortion businesses.
"It's a classic case of the abortion lobby's political and financial interests trumping the truth," she said.
Source : Steven Ertelt, Editor - LifeNews.com
Leaders of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign told LifeNews.com they take issue with the APA report claiming abortion is "not a threat to women's mental health."
"The American Psychological Association's so-called study is nothing more than a conclusion supported by opinions screened to match that predetermined outcome," says Georgette Forney, a co-founder of the group.
Forney knows from personal experience about the negative effects of an abortion as she had one as a teenager. She has dealt with her own emotions and those of friends and family and says the APA should have put more stock in people like her.
"The APA ignored or downplayed large, peer-reviewed studies showing a clear link between abortion and subsequent problems such as depression," she said. "Professionalism and intellectual honesty are not concepts I would associate with this report."
Janet Morana, also a co-founder of the post-abortion group says the APA declined to meet with hundreds of women who asked to share their experiences.
"Over 600 post-abortive women asked to meet with the APA about their experiences with abortion and depression," she told LifeNews.com. "The APA brushed them off, just like it dismissed any scientific study that didn't agree with its agenda."
For Morana, the APA isn't operating like a body of researchers who dispassionately want to find the answers to serious questions like abortion's aftereffects. Instead, she says it is acting like a pro-abortion political group doing the bidding of abortion businesses.
"It's a classic case of the abortion lobby's political and financial interests trumping the truth," she said.
Source : Steven Ertelt, Editor - LifeNews.com
Researcher on Abortion-Depression Link Says APA Report Ignores Best Studies
A New Zealand researcher who is one of the world's leading experts on the kind of mental health problems women face after an abortion says the new report from the American Psychological Association denying any link flies in the face of the best studies.
Dr. David Fergusson conducted a seminal study in January 2006 that found women who have abortions are more likely to become severely depressed.
The New Zealand study found that having an abortion as a young woman raises the risk of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Some 42 percent of the women who had abortions had experienced major depression within the last four years after their abortion. That's almost double the rate of women who never became pregnant. The risk of anxiety disorders also doubled.
According to the study, women who have abortions were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be addicted to illegal drugs.
Fergusson responded to the new APA report saying the member of the panel that produced it glossed over research like his.
"The APA report, in fact, does draw a very strong and dogmatic conclusion that cannot be defended on the basis of evidence since this evidence is lacking by the admission of the report," he says.
Fergusson says the committee, if it doubted the wealth of research showing women are more likely to suffer from a variety of mental health issue after an abortion, should have concluded that more research is needed.
Instead, the panel claimed no link exists and suggested women could have abortions without the worry of subsequent problems.
"What the Committee has, in effect, said is that until there is compelling evidence to the contrary, people should act as though abortion has no harmful effects," he said. "This is not a defensible position in a situation in which there is evidence pointing in the direction of harmful effects."
Fergusson compared the results of the APA study to officials in the tobacco industry defending their products as healthy.
"Since there is suggestive evidence of harmful effects it behooves us to err on the side of caution and commission more and better research before drawing strong conclusions," he said.
Source : Steven Ertelt, Editor - LifeNews.com
Dr. David Fergusson conducted a seminal study in January 2006 that found women who have abortions are more likely to become severely depressed.
The New Zealand study found that having an abortion as a young woman raises the risk of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Some 42 percent of the women who had abortions had experienced major depression within the last four years after their abortion. That's almost double the rate of women who never became pregnant. The risk of anxiety disorders also doubled.
According to the study, women who have abortions were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be addicted to illegal drugs.
Fergusson responded to the new APA report saying the member of the panel that produced it glossed over research like his.
"The APA report, in fact, does draw a very strong and dogmatic conclusion that cannot be defended on the basis of evidence since this evidence is lacking by the admission of the report," he says.
Fergusson says the committee, if it doubted the wealth of research showing women are more likely to suffer from a variety of mental health issue after an abortion, should have concluded that more research is needed.
Instead, the panel claimed no link exists and suggested women could have abortions without the worry of subsequent problems.
"What the Committee has, in effect, said is that until there is compelling evidence to the contrary, people should act as though abortion has no harmful effects," he said. "This is not a defensible position in a situation in which there is evidence pointing in the direction of harmful effects."
Fergusson compared the results of the APA study to officials in the tobacco industry defending their products as healthy.
"Since there is suggestive evidence of harmful effects it behooves us to err on the side of caution and commission more and better research before drawing strong conclusions," he said.
Source : Steven Ertelt, Editor - LifeNews.com