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Research Study Finds Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder Increases with Late-Term Abortions
Part Three of Three By Wanda Franz, Ph.D., NRLC President
Yesterday, I began reporting on an excellent new study by Priscilla Coleman, Ph.D., and her colleagues, that studied the psychological impact on women of having a late-term abortion. "Late-Term Elective Abortion and Susceptibility to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms" appears in the Journal of Pregnancy. The authors, Coleman, Coyle, and Rue, note that most prior research has been conducted on women who've had first-trimester abortion. "However, it is significant to note that 12%-13% of the annual 1.2 million U.S. abortions are performed after the first trimester [6–8] and this translates out to approximately 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." And if (as the authors note) there is not an extensive published literature on the physical ramifications of having an abortion beyond the first trimester, there are fewer still on the mental health outcomes. This was the first study "to compare the mental health of women undergoing early and late term abortions." This study collected information from 374 women who responded to an on-line research questionnaire. The women answered questions about themselves and their abortion experience and took the written test for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that is the result of exposure to traumatic events, such as having an abortion. Earlier research has found that about 20% of women who have had abortions met the full diagnostic criteria for PTSD. This study found that 52% of those women who had early abortions had PTSD, while 67% of those who had late-term abortions (defined as second and third trimester abortions) had the disorder. Thus, those women having late-term abortions were more apt to experience severe anxiety. (The authors offer a thorough explanation why the figures are higher in this study.) Women who had late-term abortions were more likely to suffer from symptoms of the PTSD diagnostic criteria of Intrusion than were those women who had early abortions. Intrusion involves an increased tendency to have persistent and unwanted re-experiencing of the traumatic event in the form of recurrent and distressing memories, flashbacks, and hyper-reactivity to any stimuli associated with trauma. Those who experienced late-term abortions were also more likely to report disturbing dreams, reliving the abortion, and trouble falling asleep. It is easy to imagine that it would be very difficult to sleep comfortably when such intrusive thoughts find their way into your dreams. I have always been struck by the horror of the abortion-related dreams that women have reported over the years. I could imagine that it could keep a woman from even wanting to go to sleep. Women who postpone having an abortion into the later terms of pregnancy are likely to be those who are especially conflicted about the abortion or are under extreme social pressure. Prior research indicates that these women have more difficulty making personal decisions and have poorer social support than women who have their abortions earlier. In this study, Coleman, Coyle, and Rue found that women having late-term abortions gave evidence of having poor support from the father of the child. For example they were more apt to report having left their partner prior to the abortion and keeping the abortion a secret from the partner. They also reported higher levels of pressure to abort the pregnancy. Since they delayed the abortion into the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, this suggests that they were especially conflicted over the idea of the abortion and finally did it after sufficient pressure was exerted. Women having late-term abortions gave additional evidence of having poor social support. They were more apt to have been the victims of physical abuse in childhood than those who had early abortions. They were also more apt to have been the victims of physical and sexual abuse in adulthood. The researchers also asked the women to indicate the reasons they decided to have the abortion. Women who had early abortions were more apt to report that they had the abortion because of mental health concerns, financial concerns, and concerns that the baby would interfere with their educational goals. Women who had late-term abortions were more apt to say they had the abortion because of physical health concerns. However, the reason given
most by both groups of women was that they had the abortion
because of social concerns. They feared the negative attitudes
of others if they found out about the pregnancy. Sixty-nine
percent of those having first-term abortions and 62% of those
having late-term abortions gave this as their reason for having
the abortion. The study found that these women were at the
highest risk of experiencing PTSD of any women in the s This study is further evidence of the damage that abortion does to women, especially those who have late-term abortions. The full study can be read at www.hindawi.com/journals/jp/2010/130519.html |
