|
Abortion's Safety?
Planned Parenthood Tells Teens
Planned Parenthood has a
website aimed at teenagers called Teenwire.
The site allows teenagers
to e-mail questions to Planned Parenthood "experts" about birth control,
sex, and abortion. In one "Ask the Experts" article (found at
http://www.teenwire.com/ask/2005/as-20050228p974-abortion.php) the
question of abortion's safety is addressed.
The question:
Dear Experts,
Is abortion safe?
greenie, 02.28.05
The answer:
Dear greenie,
Yes. Abortion is a very safe procedure. It's about twice as safe as a
shot of penicillin, and is 11 times safer than giving birth. Contrary to
what you may have heard, abortion does not increase the risk of
- birth defects, premature birth, or low birth
weight in future pregnancies
- breast cancer
- ectopic or tubal pregnancy
- miscarriage
The fact is that nearly half of all women in the
United States will have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old.
Of course, most abortions could be prevented by the proper use of
contraception.
Hope this information helps!
Take care,
teenwire.com® Editors
Planned Parenthood is quick to assure teens that there are no physical
dangers to abortion. However, they do not offer a single study or
citation to prove abortion's safety.
So...let's look at what the studies say:
Abortion Increases Risk of Later
Miscarriage by 60%
Source: N.
Maconochie, P. Doyle, S. Prior, R. Simmons, “Risk factors for first
trimester miscarriage—results from a UK-population-based case–control
study,” BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology,
Dec 2006. Abstract available at
www.blackwell-synergy.com.
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.
Source:
Strahan, T. Detrimental Effects of
Abortion: An Annotated Bibliography with Commentary (Springfield,
IL: Acorn Books, 2002) 168-206.
More studies confirming
higher risk of ectopic pregnancy:
Daling,et.al., "Ectopic
Pregnancy in Relation to Previous Induced Abortion", J. American
Medical Association 253(7):1005-1008, Feb. 15, 1985;
Levin, et.al., "Ectopic
Pregnancy and Prior Induced Abortion", American J. Public Health
72:253, 1982;
C.S. Chung, "Induced
Abortion and Ectopic Pregnancy in Subsequent Pregnancies," American
J. Epidemiology 115(6):879-887 (1982).
Death or disability of
newborns in later pregnancies — Cervical and uterine damage may increase
the risk of premature delivery, complications of labor, and abnormal
development of the placenta in later pregnancies.
Sources:
"Post-Abortal Endometritis and Isolation
of Chlamydia Trachomatis," Obstetrics and Gynecology 68(5):668-
690, 1986);
P. Sykes,
“Complications of termination of pregnancy: a retrospective study of
admissions to Christchurch Women’s Hospital, 1989 and 1990,”
New Zealand Medical Journal
106: 83-85, March 10, 1993;
S Osser and K Persson,
“Postabortal pelvic infection associated with Chlamydia trachomatis
infection and the influence of humoral immunity,” Am J Obstet Gynecol
150:699, 1984;
B. Hamark and L Forssman,
“Postabortal Endometritis in Chlamydia-Negative Women- Association with
Preoperative Clinical Signs of Infection,” Gynecol Obstet Invest
31:102-105, 1991;
Strahan,
Detrimental Effects of Abortion: An Annotated
Bibliography With Commentary
(Springfield, IL: Acorn Books, 2002) 169.
Studies indicating higher
risk of breast cancer after one or more abortions:
M. Segi, et al "An Epidemiological Study on Cancer
in Japan," GANN, Vol. 48, Supplement: April, 1957. (abstract not
available)
Pike et al (1981) Br Journal of Cancer 43
Oral contraceptive use and early abortion as risk
factors for breast cancer in young women
Nishiyama (1982) Shikoku Ichi 38: 333-43 (In Japanese)
Laing et al (1993) J National Med Assoc. 85:931-9
Breast cancer risk factors in African - American
women: the Howard University Tumor Resistry experience.
Laing et al (1994) Genetic Epidemiology 11:A300
Rohan et al. Am J Epidemiol 1988 Sep;128(3):478-89
A population-based case-control study of diet and
breast cancer in Australia.
Bu et al. (1995) Am J Epidemiol 141:S85
Ye et al. (2002) Br J Cancer 87:977-981
Brinton et al. (1983) Br. Journal of Cancer 47:757-62
Reproductive factors in the etiology of breast
cancer.
Rosenburg et al. (1988) Am J Epidemiology 127:981-9
Breast cancer in relation to the occurrence and
time of induced and spontaneous abortion.
Marcus et al. Am J Public Health 1999 Aug; 89(8):1244-7
Adolescent reproductive events and subsequent
breast cancer risk.
Palmer et al. (1997) Cancer Causes Control 8:841-9
Induced and spontaneous abortion in relation to
risk of breast cancer.
Lazovich et al. Epidemiology 2000 Jan;11(1):76-80
Induced abortion and breast cancer risk.
Daling et al. Am J Epidemiol 1996 Aug 15;144(4):373-80
Risk of breast cancer among white women following
induced abortion.
Daling et al. J Natl Cancer Inst 1994 Nov 2;86(21):1584-92
Risk of breast cancer among young women:
relationship to induced abortion.
Laing et al. J Natl Med Assoc 1993 Dec;85(12):931-9
Breast cancer risk factors in African-American
women: the Howard University Tumor Registry experience.
White et al. (1994) J Natl Cancer Inst 86:505-14
Breast cancer among young U.S. women in relation
to oral contraceptive use.
Newcomb et al. (1996) JAMA 275:283-7
Pregnancy termination in relation to risk of
breast cancer.
Howe et al. Int J Epidemiol 1989 Jun;18(2):300-4
Early abortion and breast cancer risk among women
under age 40.
Andrieu et al. Br J Cancer 1995 Sep;72(3):744-51
Familial risk, abortion and their interactive
effect on the risk of breast cancer--a combined analysis of six
case-control studies.
Hirohata et al. (1985) Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 69:187-90
Occurrence of breast cancer in relation to diet
and reproductive history: a case-control study in Fukuoka, Japan.
Ewertz & Duffy (1988) Br J Cancer 68:99-104
Risk of breast cancer in relation to reproductive
factors in Denmark.
Lipworth et al. (1995) Int J Cancer 61:181-4
Abortion and the risk of breast cancer: a
case-control study in Greece
Rookus & van Leeuwan J Natl Cancer Inst 88:1759-64
Induced abortion and risk for breast cancer:
reporting (recall) bias in a Dutch case-control study
Talamini et al. (1996) Eur J Cancer 32A:303-10
The role of reproductive and menstrual factors in
cancer of the breast before and after menopause
Watanabe & Hirayama (1968) Nippon Rinsho 26:1853-9 (in Japanese, no
abstract available)
Dvoirin & Medvedev (1978) Meth Prog Breast Cancer Epidemiol Res, Tallin
1978. USSR
Acad Sci pp 53-63 (In Russian)
Le et al., (1984) British J Cancer 72:744-51
Luporsi (1988) British J Cancer 72:744-51
Wu et al. (1996) Br J Cancer 73:680-6
Robertson C, Van Den Donk M, Primic-Zakelj, MacFarlaneT, Boyle P. The
association between induced and spontaneous abortion and risk of breast
cancer in Slovenian women aged 25-54. Breast 2001; 10:291-8.
Source:
Coalition on
Abortion/Breast Cancer
Interestingly enough:
"It is known that having a full-term
pregnancy early in a woman's childbearing years is protective against
breast cancer....Interruption during the first trimester of a first
pregnancy causes a cessation of cell differentiation, which may result
in a subsequent increase in the risk of cancerous growth in these
tissues."
Planned Parenthood
Federation of America, Inc. Web site, "Abortion and Breast Cancer: The
Issues" 3 (visited Sep. 5, 1997)
http://www.igc.apc.org/ppfa/ab-breas.html]
So...even though numerous
studies have shown that abortion does increase the risk of breast
cancer and the fact Planned Parenthood has actually admitted to that
risk, the organization is hasty to assure teenagers that the risk does
not exist.
Teenagers coming to
Planned Parenthood for abortions and birth control contribute millions
of dollars to the organization every year.
Perhaps the link between
profits and lying is a bit easier to see? |