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Unsafe

From pre-abortion coercion to post-abortion heartbreak, injury and deaths, abortion endangers the rights & lives of both

"I screamed that I didn't want the abortion."
"We were maiming at least one woman a month."
"Quite a number of women and girls have died."


Forced Abortion in America     
Maternal Death Rate Studies 
Physical Risks      Psychological Risks     Over 30 Recent Studies

Abortion Pill Risks (off-site link)      Help for Those Being Coerced (off-site link)

Abortion-Cancer Link

 

 “Get in touch with my dad; tell him ... I love him.”
 

 

At the abortion clinic, they gave Susanne
a barbiturate that sent her into cardiac arrest.
  Without oxygen, she lapsed into a coma. Four months later, she awoke in a nursing home, unable to talk and paralyzed from the neck down.

Three years later, Susanne died. She tapped out her last words on a special plastic synthesizer:

 

"Get in touch with my Dad. Tell him I love him."

 

State law did not permit Maryland officials to prosecute the uncertified abortionist or the unregulated clinic, which grossed an estimated $10 million in 5 year.

 

When asked what she would tell a girl about to have an abortion, Susanne shook her head, "no," and tapped out: "They would be taking a chance." 

Click the image for an ad
about Susanne's story

 

 

Most abortions involve coercion / over 100 risks / women's death rates 3.5 times higher

 

On this page:

 

Risks before and after abortion
Chart: Physical and psychological risks
Quotes from experts
Quotes from those who've been there
Higher maternal death rates post-abortion

Illegal vs. Legal Abortions

Downloadable fact sheets
Downloadable research summaries
Articles, news and links

 

 


Detrimental Effects of Abortion
Book by Thomas Strahan essential reference guide to abortion research.

 

Risks before abortion

Risks after abortion

> Unwanted or coerced abortion is common1

 

> 64% felt pressured by others over half felt rushed or uncertain, yet 67% received no counseling and 79% not told of alternatives.

> 84% were not given enough information to make an informed choice.
1

 

> Abusers, molesters, employers and others who would discriminate, abuse or threaten women at risk are empowered to push abortion in lieu of authentic support.2

 

> Forced abortion happens in America and elsewhere2

 

> Pregnancy-related abuse, discrimination, violence2

 

> Homicide is the #1 killer of pregnant women3

 

> Inadequate or negligent counseling from guides and gatekeepers in various sectors of society can reinforce, intensify or legitimize other forms of coercion, often during small windows of duress when women are seeking help.1

> Women are 3.5 times more likely to die over the next year after an abortion4

> 31% suffer health complications1

Immediate, potentially life-threatening complications include hemorrhage, shock, infection, anesthesia complications and more5

> 65% report symptoms of post-traumatic stress1


>Higher risk of future infertility, stillbirths, miscarriages and premature births6

 

> 65% higher risk of clinical depression after abortion.

 

> Higher rates of substance abuse, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, eating disorders and hospitalization.

 

> Unsafe medical practices, botched abortions, medical negligence and malpractice often go unreported. 7

 

> Suicide rates are 6 times higher after abortion8

 

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Physical Complications

  • Excessive bleeding

  • Chronic and acute infections

  • Intense pain

  • Convulsions

  • Shock

  • Coma

  • Life-threatening infections

  • Sterility

  • Pelvic inflammatory disease

  • Punctured uterus

  • Infertility

  • Higher risk of future miscarriages

  • Higher risk of breast, cervical and uterine cancer

  • Higher risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies, hysterectomies, stillbirths, premature birth (leading cause of birth defects)

  • Maternal death rates


Psychological complications

 

 

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Quotes from experts

 

 

"Many, many girls and women have wound up in the emergency room, bleeding uncontrollably or deathly sick from infection. Many have had to undergo hysterectomies. Quite a number of women and girls have died from abortion on demand." –Kevin Sherlock, The Scarlet Survey

 

"A young woman about 20 years old came to the ER because she was feeling very sick. She'd become increasingly ill ever since the abortion she'd had about a week earlier. I had her admitted to the hospital from the ER with a severe pneumonia. The following days revealed that the pneumonia was just a part of the problem—she had overwhelming sepsis, which is infection throughout her entire body which had, at its source, the abortion. ...

... "This woman died. The admitting physician never reported the incident as abortion-related, nor did she inform the abortion provider of the results of his 'care.' He was still practicing, without the slightest idea that his intervention had led to his patient's death.

"The medical diagnosis reads 'severe pain'—the real cause is abortion. The record reads 'vaginal bleeding”—the real cause is abortion. The operative note says 'ruptured ectopic pregnancy and internal hemorrhage'—the real cause is abortion. The autopsy states 'cause of death—overwhelming sepsis'—the real cause is abortion." – Emergency room physician Lenora Berning, M.D., Abortionists Not Held Accountable for Mistakes

 

"After the inspectors left, it was business as usual. The very next abortion patient ended up in the emergency room ..." –Mark Crutcher, Lime 5: Exploited by Choice

 

Teens are suffering adult-sized pain with a child's coping skills. [Abortion providers] tell them to ‘get over it’… My dream is to get this pain out in the open ... to help give women the freedom to acknowledge that abortion hurts." –Terri, who had an abortion as a teenager

 

"As the host of documentaries on abortion, I have met many women who carry deep psychological scars. In fact, I have met so many that I now believe that there are only two kinds of women who have had abortions: those who have hit the emotional wall and those who will." –Jane Chastain, columnist and radio host

 

" You cannot deny that something is being created … a psychological price is paid. … Something happens on the deeper levels of a woman’s consciousness... I know that as a psychiatrist."  –Dr. Julius Fogel, a psychiatrist and obstetrician who personally performed over 20,000 abortions

 

“Far too many women are walking into abortion clinics only to be wheeled out on a gurney,” said Newman. “The steady stream of ambulances running to and from our nation’s abortion clinics proves that abortion is not safe and that more needs to be done in the states to hold incompetent abortionists accountable for their negligence until the heinous practice of abortion can be completely ended. ...

 

"So far this year there have been ambulances called to abortion clinics in Bakersfield, Orange, and Sacramento, California; Denver, Colorado; Wilmington, Delaware; Germantown, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Albuquerque, New Mexico." Read more: Botched Abortion Epidemic Continues ...

 

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Quotes from individuals and families who've been there

 

 

"She was crying as she entered the clinic, she cried throughout the procedure, and was sobbing as she left. No one at the clinic asked her any questions ... Had they inquired about her health history they may have seen her as the high-risk patient that she was ... Her three children are growing up without their mom because no one wanted to ask questions." –Julie

 

"Our mom made my sister have an abortion. At age 14 my sister became a completely different person. She got into very hard drugs and would use them every day. She had attempted suicide at least 3 times that I know of and has horrible huge scars on her arms from one of the attempts." –Anonymous

 

"The thought of abortion in our family is a terrible thing. Our granddaughter, age 21, had an abortion. Three months later her father found her hanging from the cross beams in the basement. We did not know ... about the abortion until a week before her death when she tried suicide by cutting her wrist. ... she told her mother what she had done. They took her to the hospital ... kept her five days, released her ... three days later she killed herself. She said her boyfriend made her do it [the abortion] ... She dearly loved children ... She was always taking care of some friend's children. ... If someone could have talked with her, she might be alive today." –A Grandmother

 

Read More Personal Stories


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Higher maternal death rates

 

 

Higher risk of death


* A new record based study has found that having multiple abortions increases the risk of maternal death.

 

* Higher death rates for women after abortion have been found in  large record based studies from three countries: the U.S., Finland and Denmark. 

 

* Compared to women who give birth, women who abort have an higher risk of death from all causes, which persists for at least eight years, a U.S. record based study found. Higher risk of death from suicide and accidents were most prominent.

 

Other articles on death rates after abortion

 

Deaths Associated with Abortion

A review of published studies on death rates after abortion

Abortion Is Nearly Four Times Deadlier Than Childbirth
New studies unmask high maternal death rates
 

Why U.S. abortion mortality statistics don't tell the whole story, and some women's deaths are overlooked

 

Death Rate of Abortion Three Times Higher than Childbirth: 13-year Population Study in Published in Top OB/Gyn Journal


Abortion Linked to Elevated Mortality Rate Among Women

 

Women Are Dying, Too

 

Abortion May Increase Women's Mortality Rate

New Study Shows Women's Death Rate from Abortion Much Higher Than Previously Known 

 

Informed Consent Booklets Hide True Risks of Abortion

 

Two Senseless Deaths: The Long Road to Recovery

 

Abortionists Are Not Held Accountable for Mistakes

 

Practitioner Who Killed Woman in Botched Abortion Wins Early Release

 

Real Choice Blog
Information, statistics and stories of women who died from abortions, both legal and illegal

 

Records Show Numerous Botched Abortions at Ohio Clinic (5/12)

 

Missing from the Healthcare Debate (EI/UnLetter Issue 2012)

 

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Illegal vs. Legal Abortions

 

 

Articles on Illegal Abortions

The Truth About "Back Alley" Abortions

Illegal Abortions: They Myth and the Cure

Who Performed Abortions Before Roe? Myths and Realities About the "Bad Old Days" of Illegal Abortion

 

 

Related Articles

Women Are Still Dying from "Safe," Legal Abortions

How Safe is Abortion? A Doctor Explains

 

Learn More

Real Choice Blog

Information, statistics and stories of women who died from abortions, both legal and illegal

 

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Other published post-abortion research

 

 

Substance Abuse
Women who abort are five times more likely to subsequently abuse drugs or alcohol than women who deliver. - American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2000

 

Clinical Depression
Compared to women who carry their first unintended pregnancies to term, women who abort their first pregnancies are at significantly higher risk of clinical depression as measured an average of eight years after their first pregnancies. - British Medical Journal, 2002

 

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
65 percent of American women studied experienced multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which they attributed to their abortions. - Medical Science Monitor, 2004

 

Injury & Death

Legal Abortion Doesn't Save Women's Lives, Report Shows 12/16/09

 

New Studies Continue to Document Physical Risks of Abortion to Women  12/10/09

 

Later Preterm Birth

New Review Links Abortion to Higher Risk of Preterm Birth: Dozens of Studies Show

 

Women Who Had Abortions More Likely to Have a Later Premature Birth 10/28/08

 

More Research

 

Cancer

 

 

Breast Cancer

Abortion-Breast Cancer: 53 of 66 Studies in 54 Years Show Link (10/18/11 by Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, published at LifeNews.com)

 

National Cancer Institute Admits Abortion Raises Breast Cancer Link, But Why Aren't Women Being Told? 1/22/10, Elliot Institute News

 

Abortion & Breast Cancer Series -- from the Elliot Institute
The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link -- Those Stubborn Facts, Again (Part 1 of 4)

The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link -- The Cover-up (Part 2 of 4)

The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link -- The Dagger Under the Table (Part 3 or 4)
The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link -- The Biology (Part 4 of 4)

 

 

Other (Off-Site) Links 
Abortion & Breast Cancer – Testimony (video)

www.AbortionBreastCancer.com 

Youth Increased Risk of Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer Video

 

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Fact sheets and research summaries

 

Psychological Risks Page

Psychological Risks Fact Sheet   shorter version   longer version 

 

Physical Risks Page

Physical Risks Fact Sheet   shorter version   longer version

 

More Fact Sheets and Resources

 

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Articles, news & more 

 

 

New Study Finds Multiple Abortions Increase Risk of Maternal Death 9/7/12

 

Higher Death Rates After Abortion Found in U.S., Denmark and Finland 9/5/12

 

New Study Finds Abortion Associated With Higher Risks of Premature Birth in Later Pregnancies 8/29/12

 

Family Seeks Answers After Woman Dies Following Chicago Abortion 7/21/12

 

State Abortion Records Full of Gaps -- Off-Site, Chicago Tribune 6/16/11
Thousands of Procedures Not Reported

 

How Safe Is Abortion? by Beverly McMillan, M.D.   

 

Study Shows Abortion Death Rates Much Higher than Previously Known   


New York Abortionist Investigated for Abortion Death

 

New Zealand Study Finds Violence Increases Risk of Abortion 8/29/08

 

Pregnant College Students Aren't Made Aware of Available Resources, Survey Finds 5/16/08

Abortion Clinic Anesthetist Accused of Infecting 12 Women with Hepatitis C 4/12/10 (off-site)

Report Reveals Filthy Conditions, Health Violations at N.J. Abortion Center  3/20/07 (off-site)

New Jersey Woman Suffers Coma after Abortion
Clinic shut down because of “immediate and serious” health risks

After Comatose Victim, Two More Women Injured At New Jersey Abortion Clinic Come Forward

 

National Cancer Institute Admits Abortion Raises Breast Cancer Risk -- But Why Aren't Women Being Told?

 

Abortion Clinic Attempt to Hide Botched Abortion Emergency

 

Four-State Abortion Empire Crumbles Following Botched Abortion (9/10)


More Articles, Links & Resources on Abortion's Harm and Risk

 

 

See Also

www.AbortionRisks.org
Includes the largest online bibliography of studies on the impact of abortion on women

 

www.AfterAbortion.org
The Elliot Institute's home site, from the leading provider of research, education and outreach regarding the impact of abortion

 

 

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Citations

 

1. Rue et. al., "Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women," Medical Science Monitor 10(10): SR5-16, 2004. See also the special report, Forced Abortion in America.

 

2. For citations, see Forced Abortion in America.

 

3. JAMA 285(11): 1455:1459 (2001); J. Mcfarlane et. al., "Abuse During Pregnancy and Femicide: Urgent Implications for Women's Health." Obstetrics & Gynecology 100: 27-36 (2002).

 

4. Gissler M., et. al., “Pregnancy Associated Deaths in Finland 1987-1994 -- definition problems and benefits of record linkage,” Acta Obsetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 76:651-657 (1997).

 

5. Kaunitz, "Causes of Maternal Mortality in the United States, Obstetrics and Gynecology 65 (5), May 1985; Frank, et.al., "Induced Abortion Operations and Their Early Sequelae," Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners 35(73):175-180, April 1985; Grimes and Cates, "Abortion: Methods and Complications", in Human Reproduction, 2nd ed., 796-813; M.A. Freedman, "Comparison of complication rates in first trimester abortions performed by physician assistants and physicians," Am. J. Public Health 76(5):550-554, 1986).

 

6. See Strahan, T. Detrimental Effects of Abortion: An Annotated Bibliography with Commentary (Springfield, IL: Acorn Books, 2002) 168-206. Or visit the Thomas W. Strahan Memorial Library at  www.abortionrisks.orgg for a bibliography of studies.

 

7. Dr. Lenora Berning, "Abortionists Not Held Accountable for Mistakes," The Post-Abortion Revieww, 8(2) April-June 2000. See also How Safe Is Abortion??

 

8. Gissler, Hemminki & Lonnqvist, "Suicides after pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94: register linkage study," British Journal of Medicine 313:1431-4, 1996, and M. Gissler, “Injury deaths, suicides and homicides associated with pregnancy, Finland 1987-2000,” European J. Public Healthh 15(5):459-63, 2005. See also DC Reardon et. al., “Deaths Associated With Pregnancy Outcome: A Record Linkage Study of Low Income Women,” Women,” #8221; #8221; #8221; #8221; Southern Medical Journal 95(8):834-41, Aug. 2002.

 

9. For more information, see the article The Aftereffects of Abortion. Also, visit the Thomas W. Strahan Memorial Library at www.abortionrisks.orggg. For more information on abortion and breast cancer, including information on new studies, visit the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer.

 

10. DC Reardon et. al., “Deaths Associated With Pregnancy Outcome: A Record Linkage Study of Low Income Women,” Southern Medical Journal 95(8):834-41, Aug. 2002.

 

11. DC Reardon, et. al., "Psychiatric admissions of low-income women following abortions and childbirth," Canadian Medical Association Journal 168 (10): May 13, 2003.

 

 

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