Abortion – the word alone is enough to clear a room (let alone a blog).

For three years I was part of the Pembina Valley Pregnancy Care Centre, for two of those as chairperson, and one of the things we noticed was the absolute scorn and anger raised at the very suggestion that abortion contributed to any form of mental illness. The term post abortion syndrome was looked down upon as politicizing by pro-life advocates and dismissed as psuedo-science.

This past week the respected British Journal of Psychiatry published an article entitled: Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995-2009. You can find the abstract here: http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.abstract.

The report abstract calls the latest research “the largest quantitative estimate of mental health risks associated with abortion available in the world literature.”

Quite the statement and I am sure psychiatrists around the world and others with a vested interest will pour over the research and prepare either rebuttals or articles of support.

The report states its primary conclusions as follows:

“Women who had undergone an abortion experienced an 81% increased risk of mental health problems, and nearly 10% of the incidence of mental health problems was shown to be attributable to abortion. The strongest subgroup estimates of increased risk occurred when abortion was compared with term pregnancy and when the outcomes pertained to substance use and suicidal behaviour.”

I think it is safe to assume these results will be divisive just as every other aspect of the subject seems to have been for year after year. I do hope it sparks dialog however. Petty partisan fighting helps no one – especially the women who find themselves in the middle of having to decide whether they will have an abortion or not.

I also hope the report is a step toward admitting that resources are required for women who have had an abortion…that support needs to be provided both before AND after.