The argument used by many advocates of abortion -- that abortion is safer than childbirth -- is difficult to defend in light of medical evidence to the contrary. The Abortion Surveillance Branch of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintains that induced abortion is safer than childbirth [75] and that the serious complication rate is less than one percent. [76] Yet there is no agreement among investigators as to what constitutes a major complication and no real national system for the reporting these kind of statistics, [77] making the accuracy of such assertions questionable. Furthermore, the experiences of private physicians and gynecologists do not seem to support the validity of the CDC’s claim. [78]
Daniel J. Martin, M.D., Ltd., clinical instructor at St. Louis University Medical School, St. Louis, Missouri, has said, "The impact of abortion on the body of a woman who chooses abortion is great and always negative. I can think of no beneficial effect of a social abortion on a body." [79]
Why is this so? Because induced abortion is the premature, willful, and violent penetration of a closed and safeguarded system -- a system in which nearly every cell, tissue and organ of a woman’s reproductive system has been specially transformed and activated to carry out the function of sustaining and nourishing the developing child. Not surprisingly, any violation of the integrity of that system can lead to serious complications. Physical problems range from hemorrhage and infection to sterility and even death. Psychological effects range from depression and mental trauma to divorce and even suicide.
NancyJo Mann is one of many who has experienced both kinds of complications. Infection and bleeding followed her abortion which eventually led to a hysterectomy. Recalling her experience, she said, "Beforehand, I liked myself. I had never entertained the idea of abortion. But the minute that needle went through my abdomen, I hated it, because I knew it could not be reversed. I wanted to scream, ‘Don’t do this to me!’" [80]
Previous Page | Next Page | Reference Page | Abortion Some Medical Facts