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"If there's no mental health risk after abortion, then why do Care Net centers have tens of thousands of people knocking on their doors every year seeking help dealing with a past abortion?" says Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde
Contact: Kristin Hansen, Care Net, 703-554-8742
LANSDOWNE, Va., Jan. 27, 2011 /Standard Newswire/ -- The Associated Press was quick to trumpet a new Danish study that suggests that abortion has no mental health risk. Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde responded Thursday, saying, "This is the latest example of how research on abortion risks has become so politicized that it's difficult for women to make a truly informed pregnancy decision." Care Net is a non-profit organization that supports a network of 1,130 pregnancy centers in North America which provided post-abortion support to more than 23,000 individuals in 2009 alone.
"If it's true that having an abortion has zero impact on mental health, then why do Care Net centers have tens of thousands of women and men knocking on their doors every year seeking help dealing with a past abortion?" Delahoyde said. "Women facing unexpected pregnancies deserve medically accurate information about abortion risks before making an important life decision about their pregnancy."
Care Net's Medical Consultant Dr. Sandy Christiansen agrees that research on abortion risks has become a political football. "There is sufficient data in the scientific literature to conclude that induced abortion substantially increases risk of anxiety, depression, substance use, suicide ideation, and suicide," said Dr. Christiansen.
According to Dr. Priscilla Coleman, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, over the last two decades, hundreds of studies documenting abortion as a significant risk factor for mental health problems have been published in premier psychology and medical peer-reviewed journals. (Read a complete list of sources.)
Unfortunately, this evidence was largely discounted in a report released by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2008, according to Dr. Coleman, an invited reviewer of the Task Force Report on Abortion and Mental Health. "Tragically, for the millions of individuals and professionals who have trusted the APA to provide valid assessments of scientific information, the work was clearly agenda driven and the report fraught with problems," said Dr. Coleman. (Read analysis by Dr. Coleman.)
"Care Net stands in agreement with Dr. Coleman's analysis that an unbiased assessment of the world's literature clearly demonstrates the negative psychological impact of induced abortion and simultaneously negates the conclusions of the APA Task Force," said Dr. Christiansen.
