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Research Study Finds Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder Increases with Late-Term Abortions
Part One of Four By Wanda Franz, Ph.D., NRLC President Good evening and thanks for reading "Today's News & Views." Part Two discusses some fascinating new polling data. Part Three examines the confession of the BBC that it has been outrageously partial--and what that means for us in the USA. Part Four is an essay we ran yesterday whose graphics we mucked up. This time we get it right. Over at National Right to Life News Today (www.nationalrighttolifenews.org), you'll read about the beauty of helping NRLC and its affiliates; and the ugliness of a man whose wife refused to abort. Please send your comments on Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha.
In the United States today, around 1.2 million abortions are performed annually. Most of these abortions are performed early in the first trimester. However, approximately 12%-13% of abortions are performed later in the pregnancy each year in the United States. In hard numbers, that equals 144,000 per year, with 3.7% (or 36,000) taking place at 16-20 weeks, and 1.3% (or 15,600) occurring beyond the 20th week of pregnancy. For years, it has been assumed that these late-term abortions would be more detrimental to the health of the women having the abortions. It just seems logical that it would be harder to abort an older unborn baby. It is closer to what most people think of as infanticide. In addition, a late-term abortion is more stressful for the woman's body and would likely require more technical skill to perform. There is evidence that late-term abortions are more dangerous and have a higher rate of physical complications then early, first-term abortions. The abortion complication rate is 3%-6% at 12 weeks gestation but increases to 50% or higher for abortions done in the second trimester. There is very little research evidence to show that late-term abortions are detrimental to the mental health of the women having them. Many of the clinical observations written by psychologists and psychiatrists are very suggestive of greater harm for those who abort later in the pregnancy, but there is no empirical evidence to show that the stress is greater than for women who abort earlier. However, a new study has just been published by Priscilla Coleman, Ph.D., and her colleagues in the "Journal of Pregnancy" that examines this specific question. What they found in "Late-Term Elective Abortion and Susceptibility to Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms" fully supports the common-sense notion that later-term abortions are more detrimental to women's mental health than first-trimester abortions. Information was collected about the women using the internet. The women went to the research web site and filled out the questionnaire, which included questions about their family history, current situation, and opinions about their abortion. It also included the test for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that occurs as a result of exposure to a severe psychosocial stressor. It is assumed that abortion is such a stressor. In order to be diagnosed with PTSD, the patient must show three stressor-related criteria. These include: Intrusion, which involves "persistent and unwanted re-experiencing of the traumatic event in the form of recurrent and distressing memories, flashbacks, and hyper-reactivity to associated stimuli;" Avoidance, which "pertains to persistent and deliberate efforts to avoid recalling the traumatic event using various forms of denial, dissociation or detachment;" and Hyperarousal, which is a "general uneasiness or jumpiness that may include insomnia, the tendency to startle easily, feelings of impending danger or disaster, trouble concentrating, extreme irritability, and possible violent behavior." PTSD was first identified in veterans returning from the Vietnam War, but the test has since been used extensively for anyone experiencing traumatic events. Studies performed on women who have had abortions, generally find that around 20% of these women suffer from PTSD. In this study, the percentage was much higher: 52% of those experiencing an early abortion and 67% of those experiencing a later-term abortion. The high rates of post-traumatic stress in this group are probably related to the likely tendency of women in stress to seek out such a web site and participate in the study. However, this approach has the advantage that those who do respond to the questions can expect to provide very accurate and complete answers to questions, since the method allows for complete anonymity. In Part Two I'll provide a complete report on the findings of this excellent study. |
