Originally published February 8 2006
Study claims abortion increases the risk of mental illness in women
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
At the School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Christchurch, New Zealand, researchers have completed a long-term study of 500 Kiwis, and one of their findings is that abortion increases the risk of mental illness for women later in life.
TONY EASTLEY: New research out today suggests that having an abortion can increase the likelihood of young women later developing some sort of mental health problem.
Professor David Fergusson, a psychologist from the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, says having an abortion is a risk factor for the onset of mental illness.
Our expectation was that we would find that young women who had abortions had higher rates, but that was due to selection factors, that is the background of young women predisposed them both to abortion and to mental health problems, and we found that that was not in fact the case.
Abortion turns out to be the most common medical surgical procedure that young women actually encounter during adolescence and young adulthood.
TOM IGGULDEN: Professor Fergusson says he hopes his research will help young women to make the decision on whether or not to have an abortion.
DAVID FERGUSSON: My view is I'm pro-choice, and I believe that women do have the right to have a choice to abortion.
So I don't see these results as being against that position, but it does show, as with any surgical procedure, or any procedure of any form, that there are risks and benefits that need to be taken into account and to be weighed up very carefully.
there's been a lot of debate about whether abortion does or does not have harmful effects, but the amount of research into the harms of abortion, or its benefits for that matter, has been very limited.
DAVID FERGUSSON: No, well we had a certain amount of difficulty getting these results published, but...
DAVID FERGUSSON: And the truth of the matter, will, I believe, lies between the two extremes.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml