For Immediate Release
 

UK Health Columnist Acknowledges
Long-Term Effects of Abortion on Relationships
 

Springfield, IL (May 16, 2008) -- A doctor writing in the London Times says that abortion can change how a couple feels about each each other and that this can "irretrievably undermine" a relationship, stating that a "lack of interest in sex after abortion is so common that it can almost be said to be expected."

Dr. Thomas Stuttaford, a health advice columnist for the Times, was responding to a woman who said she had avoided sex after having an abortion and asked if her negative feelings about the abortion would pass. He wrote that "years of experience with patients" had shown him that even "the most ardent" relationships might not survive an abortion, stating that "frequently, there has been too much emotion around, even if there have been no spoken recriminations."

Stuttaford went on to refer to a U.S. study that found that "nearly all" women who had abortions had negative feelings following an abortion and said that the researchers were "unduly sanguine" in expecting those negative emotions to go away within a month. Studies published by the Elliot Institute found that women who aborted were more likely than women who carried to term to suffer from clinical depression an average of eight years later, had a higher suicide rate up to eight years later and were more likely to engage in substance abuse an average of four years later.

And a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Public Health also found that abortion can impact relationships for both women and men. Problems including higher rates of domestic violence, sexual dysfunction, arguing about various issues and feeling that one would be better off if the relationship ended.