Must Reading for Pro-Lifers
By Dave Andrusko
A couple of years ago I wrote a glowing review for a new book titled, Women's Health after Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence. I am happy to say this stellar publication, produced by the non-profit deVeber Institute for Social Research, is now in its second edition and available from National Right to Life. The Canadian think tank, open since 1982, specializes in first-rate analyses of a number of topics, including euthanasia and assisted suicide. (See instructions at the end of this article describing how to order.)
Thirty-one years and counting into the reign of Roe v. Wade, is there anything new that can be added/debated? Well, yes - - actually, lots and lots. And books such as Women's Health after Abortion are important reasons why the public is seeing abortion anew.
Pro-lifers know both intuitively and by personal experience that "safe, legal abortion" is not only lethal to the unborn child but also exacts a toll on women far more serious than the public is led to believe. But is there evidence to back up this gut feeling? Yes, and, intriguingly, much of the evidence for abortion's nefarious impact often comes from studies whose primary emphasis is not abortion.
"[S]ome of the consequences of abortion do not surface until long after the procedure, or, as in the case of infertility, remain undetected until the woman wishes to bear a child," write authors Elizabeth Ring-Cassidy and Ian Gentles. "Yet at present many studies rely on short-term findings; furthermore, researchers often minimize the significance of their findings, and sometimes even arrive at conclusions that flatly contradict their data."
In addition, with virtually all abortions now being performed in outpatient clinics (as opposed to hospitals or even a private physician's office), studying the fallout from abortion is now far more difficult. Follow-up in clinics ranges from minimal to non-existent. "Nonetheless," as the book concludes, "what research there is, shows that abortion is the source of serious physical and psychological problems for a significant number of women."
One of the many accomplishments of this book, based on over 500 articles that have appeared in medical and other journals, is to bring together in one place the conclusions of many studies that, standing alone, do not convey the risks that abortion poses to women. The deVeber Institute encapsulates the book's thesis thusly: "Abortion complications are seriously underreported, leaving women who undergo abortion largely unaware of the range of physical and psychological risks they face."
The second edition features much helpful new information. This includes a new Introduction, and more on the abortion/breast cancer link. There is also an expanded discussion of such complications as pelvic infection, ectopic pregnancy, prematurity, increased incidences of cerebral palsy, and maternal death.
This is an important book which both you and your chapter ought to have.
The cost for one book is $16, plus $3.95 for shipping. (Shipping costs per book go down for larger orders.) E-mail Joseph Landrum at jlandrum@nrlc.org for further information.