Breast
CancerFor women aborting a first pregnancy, the risk of breast cancer almost doubles after a first-trimester abortion and is multiplied with two or more abortions. This risk is especially great for women who do not have children.
Scientific
Studies Reveal
Significant Risks Of Abortion
Breast
Cancer
For
women
aborting a first pregnancy, the risk of breast cancer almost doubles
after a first-trimester abortion and is multiplied with two or more
abortions. This risk is especially great for women who do not have
children.
Cervical,
Ovarian, And
Liver Cancer
Women with one
abortion face a 2.3 relative risk of cervical cancer, compared to
non-aborted women, and women with two or more abortions face a 4.92
relative risk. Similar elevated risks of ovarian and liver cancer have
also been linked to single and multiple abortions. These increased
cancer rates are apparently linked to the unnatural disruption of the
hormonal changes which accompany pregnancy and untreated cervical
damage.
Uterine
Perforation
Between 2 and
3% of all abortion patients may suffer perforation of their uterus, yet
most of these injuries will remain undiagnosed and untreated unless
laparoscopic visualization is performed. The risk of uterine
perforation is increased for women who have previously given birth and
for those who receive general anesthesia at the time of the abortion.
Uterine damage may result in complication in later pregnancies and may
eventually evolve into problems which require a hysterectomy, which
itself may result in a number of additional complications and injuries
including osteoporosis.
Cervical
Lacerations
Significant
cervical lacerations requiring sutures occur in at least 1% of first
trimester abortions. Lesser lacerations which would normally not be
treated may also result in long term reproductive damage.
Latent post-abortion
cervical
damage may result in subsequent cervical incompetence, premature
delivery and complications during labor. The risk of cervical damage is
greater for younger women and for second trimester abortions.
Placenta
Previa
Abortion
increases the risk of placenta previa (a condition in pregnancy where
the placenta covers the opening of the womb) in later pregnancies by
seven to fifteen fold. Abnormal development of the placenta due to
uterine damage increases the risk of fetal malformation, perinatal
death, and excessive bleeding during labor.
Vanderbilt University
Medical
Center noted an increase in placenta previa (which can lead to a great
blood loss to the mother during labor). It can cause death of the
mother and death of the baby. Doctors on staff looked into the increase
of this condition and found its cause to be the increase of legal
abortions. The study concluded that women who has abortions were 7-15
times more likely to get placenta previa in later pregnancies. J.M.
Barrett, et al, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
(December 1, 1981), pp 669,772.
Handicapped
Newborns In
Later Pregnancies
Abortion is
associated with cervical and uterine damage which may increase the risk
of premature delivery, complications of labor and abnormal development
of the placenta in later pregnancies. These type of reproductive
complications are the leading causes of handicaps among newborns.
Ectopic
Pregnancy
Abortion is
significantly related to an increased risk of subsequent ectopic
pregnancies. Ectopic pregnancies, in turn, are life threatening and may
result in reduced fertility.
Endometritis
Endometritis
is a post-abortion risk for all women, but especially for younger
women, who are 2.5 times more likely than women ages 20-29 to acquire
endometritis following abortion.
Pelvic
Inflammatory
Disease (PID)
PID
is a
potentially life threatening disease which can lead to an increased
risk of ectopic pregnancy and reduced fertility. Of patients who have a
chlamydia infection at the time of the abortion, 23% will develop PID
within 4 weeks. Approximately 5% of patients who are not infected by
chlamydia develop PID within 4 weeks after a first trimester abortion.
Immediate
Complications
Approximately
10% of women undergoing elective abortion will suffer immediate
complications, of which approximately one-fifth are considered life
threatening. The nine most common major complications which can occur
at the time of an abortion are: infection, excessive bleeding,
embolism, ripping or perforation of the uterus, anesthesia
complications, convulsions, hemorrhage, cervical injury, and endotoxic
shock. The most common complications include: infection, bleeding,
fever, second degree burns, chronic abdominal pain, vomiting,
gastrointestinal disturbances, and Rh sensitization.
Increased
Risks
WithMultiple Abortions
In general,
most of the studies previously cited reflect risk factors for women who
undergo a single abortion. These same studies show that women who have
multiple abortions face much greater risks of experiencing these
complications. This point is especially noteworthy since approximately
45% of all abortions are repeats.
Increased
Risk For
Behavioral Changes
Abortion is
significantly linked to behavioral changes such as promiscuity,
smoking, drug abuse, and eating disorders which all contribute to
increased risks of health problems.
Sterility
One of the
many abortion related health problems is that of future sterility. The
risk of not being able to bear future children increases after an
abortion.
Abortion results in
cervical
damage, which may result in permanent weakening of the cervix, which,
in turn, is unable to carry the weight of a later pregnancy. The cervix
opens prematurely.
In a study performed with
252
women, the investigators concluded that "the occurrence of either
induced or spontaneous abortions independently and significantly
increased the risk of subsequent development of secondary infertility.
The study was done at Harvard from the Journal of
Epideminology and Community Health, Feb. 1993 issue.
The fallopian tubes are
fragile
organs. If infection injures one, it often seals shut. The typical
infection involving these organs is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease is difficult to manage and often leads to
infertility, even with prompt treatment.
Approximately 10% of
women will
develop tubal adhesions leading to infertility after one episode of
PID, 30% after two episodes, and more than 60% after three episodes.
(M. Spence, Sexually Transmitted Disease Bulletin, Johns Hopkins
University).
The risk of secondary
infertility among women with at least one induced abortion is 3-4 times
greater than that among women who haven't had an abortion. (British
Journal of OB/GYN, August, 1976)
Dr. Bohumil Stipal,
Czecho-slovakia's Deputy Minister of Health, stated: "Roughly 25% of
the women who interrupt their first pregnancy have remained permanently
childless."
Thomas Hilgers, MD, in a
report
on induced abortion said 5-10% of women who abort will become sterile.
(1976)
More and more, health
researchers are noting a dramatic rise in sterility, tubal pregnancies
and placenta previa.
Death
The leading
causes of abortion related deaths are hemorrhage, infection, embolism,
anesthesia, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies. Legal abortion is
reported as the fifth leading cause of maternal death in the United
States, though most abortion related deaths are not officially reported
as such.
TOTAL
NUMBER OF ABORTIONS
In The United States
BETWEEN the years 1973
and 2001: 42,036,175
YEAR ANNUAL
NUMBER OF ABORTIONS
1973
744,600
1974
898,600
1975
1,034,200
1976
1,179,300
1977
1,316,700
1978
1,409,600
1979
1,497,700
1980
1,553,900
1981
1,577,300
1982
1,573,900
1983
1,575,000
1984
1,577,200
1985
1,588,600
1986
1,574,000
1987
1,559,100
1988
1,590,800
1989
1,566,900
1990
1,608,600
1991
1,556,500
1992
1,528,900
1993
1,500,000
1994
1,431,000
1995
1,363,690
1996
1,365,300
1997
1,328,000
1998
1,328,000 estimates
1999
1,328,000 estimates
2000
1,328,000 estimates
2001
1,328,000 estimates
Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) 2002
Number of abortions
per year: Approximately
46 Million
Number
of abortions
per day: Approximately
126,000
Abortion
Averages: Worldwide, the lifetime
average is about 1 abortion per woman.
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