Physical effects of abortion
Fact sheets, news, articles,
links to published studies & more
psychological risks page
physical
risks fact
sheets (pdfs)
breast cancers
cancer
detrimental effects of abortion (academic reference book)
maternal deaths page
help
for those being coerced (off-site link)
help & healing page
how
to help others (pdf)
 Aftereffects
can range from immediate complications to infertility and other long-term
injuries or maternal death
There is
significant academic evidence of abortion's physical harm to women. About 10
percent suffer immediate complications, one-fifth of which are
life-threatening.1 However, most of abortion's aftereffects
develop over time and may not become evident for days, months or even years.
For a complete
list of physical complications, with citations to academic research
published in
peer-reviewed journals, download the
Physical Aftereffects fact sheet.
(This is also available in a
single-page version.)
Immediate Complications
Immediate complications can include hemorrhage, cervical injury,
convulsions, infection and shock, chronic abdominal pain, second-degree
burns, perforated uterus and anesthesia complications.
Immediate
complications can lead to long-term reproductive damage.
Reproductive risks are higher for women who abort their first pregnancy. A
study of first pregnancy abortions found that nearly half had
abortion-related complications in later pregnancies. These women had 2.3
miscarriages for each live birth.2 Another study found that,
among teens who aborted their first pregnancies, 66% later experienced
miscarriages or premature birth.3
Reproductive Damage
Abortion can
damage reproductive organs and cause long-term and sometimes permanent
problems that endanger future pregnancies. Women who have abortions are more
likely to experience ectopic pregnancies, infertility, hysterectomies,
stillbirths, miscarriages, and premature births than women who have not had
abortions.7
Breast Cancer and Other Cancers
Studies have found an increased risk of breast cancer and
cervical
cancer.8 There is also data showing a higher risk of
lung cancer,
likely due to increased smoking patterns after abortion, and
other cancers.
One study
that analyzed the results of multiple studies, found a statistically
significant association between abortion and breast cancer. The study's
author, Dr. Joel Brind, proposed that this may be caused by the sudden
change in pregnancy hormones caused by abortion. A committee of experts
issued a statement stating their belief that the findings do not warrant
public alarm. Dr. Brind published a minority opinion, along with other
fact sheets disputing this conclusion.
This information and fact sheets
are available at the
Breast
Cancer Prevention Institute including:
Scientific Developments Relating to the Effect of Abortion in Risk of
Future Breast Cancer.
There is
also a synopsis of studies examining abortion and breast cancer at
AbortionRisks.org.
Other links
include:
Abortion-Breast Cancer: 53 of 66
Studies in 54 Years Show Link
National Cancer Institute Admits Abortion Raises Breast
Cancer Link, But Why Aren't Women Being Told?
Study of 36 Chinese Abortion-Breast Cancer Studies a “Game Changer,”
Says Scientist
Induced Abortion Raises Breast Cancer Risk by More Than 20-Fold, Study
Finds
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
Higher
Maternal Death Rates
The leading
cause of abortion-related maternal deaths within a week of abortion are:
hemorrhage, infection, embolism, anesthesia complications, and undiagnosed
ectopic pregnancies.4
After
abortion, women are 3.5 times more likely to die in the year following
abortion. Another study found that women who had abortions had a 62%
higher risk of death from all causes for at least eight years after the
abortion. Deaths from suicides and accidents were most prominent.
Physical Aftereffects -- Downloadable Fact Sheets with Citations
Physical Aftereffects Fact Sheet -- single page (pdf)
Physical Aftereffects Fact Sheet -- longer version (pdf)
Psychological Impact of Abortions page
"Unsafe" Page
"Unsafe - Maternal Death Rates Page
AbortionRisks.org
Abortion Pill Risks (off-site link)
Detrimental Effects -- Reference Book Bibliography of Available Research
Additional research summaries are available in the book “Detrimental Effects
of Abortion: An Annotated Bibliography with Commentary,” edited by Thomas W.
Strahan. Click here to order, or call Acorn Books: 1-888-412-2676.
Articles and resources
The Aftereffects of Abortion
(off-site)
The Protective Effects of Childbirth Compared to Abortion
Detrimental Effects of Abortion:
An Annotated Bibliography with Commentary
Free
2002 Supplement to Detrimental Effects of Abortion
Free
2003 Supplement to Detrimental Effects of Abortion
lLinks to full text articles of medical
research on abortion
Suicides after pregnancy in Finland: 1987-94: register linkage study.
British Medical Journal 313:1431-4, 1996. Gissler M. Hemminki E,
Lonnqvist J.
Deaths associated with abortion compared to childbirth: a review of new
and old data and the medical and legal implications. The
Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy 2004; 20(2):279-327. Reardon
DC, Strahan TW, Thorp JM, Shuping MW.
News regarding the physical effects of abortion
Study: Women Who Use Abortion Drug Experience More Pain, Emotional
Distress 10/11/10
National Cancer Institute Admits Abortion Raises Breast Cancer Link, But
Why Aren't Women Being Told? 1/22/10
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
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
Death Rate of Abortion Three Times Higher than Childbirth: 13-year
Population Study in Published in Top OB/Gyn Journal 3/5/04
Abortion Linked to Elevated Mortality Rate Among Women, New Study
8/02
Abortion Nearly Four Times Deadlier Than Childbirth: New Government
Study In Finland Ignored by Abortion Providers
Complications of Delivery Linked to Prior Abortion: New Study
March of Dimes Cover-up of Abortion / Preemie Link is the Real Mystery
More information
latest news
psychological effects of abortion
resources
AbortionRisks.org
AbortionResearch.us
AfterAbortion/org Research Links (Elliot Institute)
citations
1. Frank, et.al., “Induced Abortion
Operations and Their Early Sequelae”, Journal of the Royal College of
General Practitioners (April 1985), vol.35,no.73,pp175-180. and Grimes
and Cates, “Abortion: Methods and Complications”, Human Reproduction,
2nd ed., 796-813.
2. Lembrych, “Fertility Problems Following Aborted First
Pregnancy”,eds.Hilgers, et.al., New Perspectives on Human Abortion
(Frederick, Md.: University Publications of America, 1981).
3. Russel, “Sexual Activity and Its
Consequences in the Teenager”,
Clinics in Ob&Gyn, (Dec. 1974). vol.1,no.3,pp683-698.
4.
Kaunitz, “Causes of Maternal Mortality in the United States,
Obstetrics and Gynecology 65(5), May 1985
5. M Gissler 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; Mika Gissler, Elina Hemminki, Jouko Lonnqvist, “Suicides
after pregnancy in Finland: 1987-94: register linkage study”
British Medical Journal 313:1431-4, 1996; and M. Gissler,
“Injury deaths, suicides and homicides associated with pregnancy, Finland
1987-2000,”
European J. Public Health
15(5):459-63, 2005 .
6. 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.
7.
Strahan, T.
Detrimental Effects of Abortion: An Annotated Bibliography with Commentary
(Springfield, IL: Acorn Books, 2002) 168-206.
8.
H.L. Howe, et al., "Early Abortion and Breast Cancer Risk Among Women Under
Age 40," International Journal of Epidemiology 18(2):300-304, 1989;
L.I. Remennick, "Induced Abortion as A Cancer Risk Factor: A Review of
Epidemiological Evidence," Journal of Epidemiological Community Health
1990; M.C. Pike, "Oral Contraceptive Use and Early Abortion as Risk
Factors for Breast Cancer in Young Women," British Journal of Cancer
43:72, 1981; M-G, Le, et al., "Oral Contraceptive Use and Breast or Cervical
Cancer: Preliminary Results of a French Case- Control Study, Hormones and
Sexual Factors in Human Cancer Etiology ed. JP Wolff, et al., (New York,
Excerpta Medica,1984) 139-147; F. Parazzini, et al., "Reproductive Factors
and the Risk of Invasive and Intraepithelial Cervical Neoplasia," British
Journal of Cancer 59:805-809,1989; H.L. Stewart, et al., "Epidemiology
of Cancers of the Uterine Cervix and Corpus, Breast and Ovary in Israel and
New York City," Journal of the National Cancer Institute 37(1):1-96;
I. Fujimoto, et al., "Epidemiologic Study of Carcinoma in Situ of the
Cervix," Journal of Reproductive Medicine 30(7):535, July 1985; N.
Weiss, "Events of Reproductive Life and the Incidence of Epithelial Ovarian
Cancer," Am. J. of Epidemiology, 117(2):128-139, 1983; V. Beral, et
al., "Does Pregnancy Protect Against Ovarian Cancer," The Lancet
1083-7, May 20, 1978; C. LaVecchia, et al., "Reproductive Factors and the
Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Women," International Journal of
Cancer 52:351, 1992.
9. http://www.bcpinstitute.org/factshts.htm
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