Women Victimized by Abortions Not Surprised by Mental Health Link Study

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 14, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Women Victimized by Abortions Not Surprised by Mental Health Link Study Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 14,
2008

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Representatives of a group that gives women victimized by abortions a national voice are not surprised by a study showing women who have abortions experience high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder. They say women suffer a myriad of psychological and emotional issues after an abortion.

Officials with the Silent No More Awareness Campaign told LifeNews.com that the study, published in the journal BMC Psychiatry, only reinforces what its members have been saying for years.

“It’s always good when a peer reviewed psychiatric study validates what you already know in your heart to be true,” Georgette Forney said.

Forney, the co-founder of the post-abortion group, knows firsthand the emotional trauma of an abortion, as she’s an abortion victim herself.

“It’s really only common sense, though, that a mother who undergoes the trauma of losing her child, whether voluntarily or under coercion from a boyfriend or parent, would suffer consequences from that trauma," she explained.

The study appeared in the July 2007 issue of the professional psychological publication but is only coming to light now.

The research involved 155 women from South Africa who had abortions and were evaluated one month and three months afterwards.

Approximately 20 percent of the women had post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms just one month later. The results led the authors to note that "high rates of PTSD characterize women who have undergone voluntary pregnancy termination.

Looking at the women three months after the abortion, the number of women experiencing the PTSD symptoms increased 61 percent.

“This is more evidence that abortion hurts women,” SNMC spokeswoman Janet Morana added.

"The cause and effect link between abortion and mental health problems is obvious, painfully obvious," she told LifeNews.com.

"It’s far beyond time for the abortion industry to stop disrespecting women and tell them the truth about what abortion will do to them," she concluded.

Related web sites:
Silent No More Awareness Campaign – https://www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org