Abortion Complications

What physical and psychological risks do women take when they have an abortion? The range of possible complications may surprise you.

by Carrie Gordon Earll

Roughly one million American women each year submit to abortion, making it one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures. But abortion is not without risk - to our bodies, our minds and our emotions.

"I had an abortion at 17 and it was the worst thing I ever did...I was two months gone when I realized. I went to my mum and she said, without pausing for breath: 'You have to get rid of it.'
She told me where the clinic was and then virtually pushed me off. She was so angry. She said I'd gotten myself in this mess, now she had to get me out. But she didn't come. I went alone. I was terrified. It was full of other young girls, and we were all terrified and looking at each other and nobody was saying a word. I howled my way through it, and it was horrible.
I would never recommend it to anyone because it comes back to haunt you.
When I tried to have children, I lost three – I think it was because something happened to my cervix during the abortion. After three miscarriages, they had to put a stitch in it."
-Sharon Osborne (TV personality and wife of Ozzy Osborne)

Physical

• Women face a number of possible physical complications as a result of legal abortion including hemorrhage requiring transfusion, perforation of the uterus, cardiac arrest, endotoxic shock, major unintended surgery, infection resulting in hospitalization, convulsions, undiagnosed ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, cervical laceration, uterine rupture, and death.¹
• Seventeen percent of women participating in a study on the effects of abortion reported that they have "experienced physical complications (e.g., abnormal bleeding or pelvic infection) since their abortion." Based on reported abortion statistics, this represents 200,000 women annually experiencing physical complications after an abortion.²
• Abortion can adversely affect later pregnancies. A recent literature review concluded that abortion is a risk factor for placenta previa (where the placenta implants over the cervix, causing hemorrhaging) and preterm delivery with subsequent pregnancies. ³
• Research has found that women having abortions are more likely to have a low birth-weight baby in a later pregnancy.⁴
• Abortion can increase your chance of having an ectopic (or tubal) pregnancy in the future.⁵
• Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that having multiple abortions increases a woman’s chance of having a miscarriage in a later pregnancy.⁶
• All women, especially young teenagers, are at risk for damage to their cervix during an abortion, which can lead to complications with later pregnancies.⁷
• Abortion puts a woman at increased risk for complications in later pregnancies. Medical research states that, "Complications such as bleeding in the first and third trimesters, abnormal presentations and premature rupture of the membranes, abruptio placentae, fetal distress, low birth weight, short gestation, and major malformations occurred more often among women with a history of two or more induced abortions."⁸
• Abortion can increase your risk for breast cancer. A review analyzing 23 studies on breast cancer and abortion states that 17 of those studies indicate an increased risk of breast cancer among women having an abortion.⁹
• Existing evidence of an abortion-breast cancer connection prompted the New England Journal of Medicine to publish a February 2000 review of breast cancer research, which lists abortion as a risk factor.¹⁰

Emotional

• A recent literature review concluded that abortion is a risk factor for "mood disorders substancial enough to provike attempts of self-harm."¹¹
• Women who ended their first pregnancy by abortion are five times more likely to report subsequent substance abuse than women who carried the pregnancy to term and four times more likely to report substance abuse compared to those whose first pregnancy ended naturally.¹²
• Research published in the prestigious Archives of General Psychiatry acknowledges that many women experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an abortion. In one of the longest-running studies conducted on women after abortion, researchers found that over time, relief and positive emotions relating to the abortion declined and negative emotions increased. PTSD symptoms include dreams or flashbacks to the abortion, a general numbing of responsiveness not present before the abortion, and difficulty falling asleep.
• In the same study, a survey of women two years after their abortions found that 28 percent of women were either indifferent about or dissatisfied with their abortion decision and 31 percent said they were uncertain or would not have an abortion again.¹³
• The circumstances surrounding an abortion decision can impact a woman, as well. According to research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, "Abortion for medical or genetic indications, a history of psychiatric contact before the abortion, and mid-trimester abortions often result in more distress afterward. When women experience significant ambivalence about the decision or when the decision is not freely made, the results are also more likely to be negative."¹⁴
• After an abortion, women can experience psychological reactions ranging from guilt feelings, nervous symptoms, sleep disturbance and regrets. Also, as many as 10 percent of women "experience serious psychiatric problems following abortion."¹⁵
• As many as 60 percent of women having an abortion experience some level of emotional distress afterwards. In 30 percent of women, the distress is classified as severe.¹⁶
• A Finnish study of suicide after pregnancy found that:

"The suicide rate after an abortion was three times the general suicide rate and six times that associated with birth"

Suicides were more common after a miscarriage—and especially after an induced abortion—than in the general population

An increased risk of suicide after an abortion indicates either common risk factors for both suicide and abortion, or harmful effects of induced abortion on mental health.¹⁷

• Welch researchers examined abortion and suicide and concluded, "our data suggest that a deterioration in mental health may be a consequential side effect of induced abortion."¹⁸
• A study of couples involved in first-trimester abortions in Canada found that abortion can be highly distressful for both men and women. Researchers found that both before and after the abortion, “study couples were found to be much more distressed than control[s]” couples. High levels of distress among women “correlated with fear of [the abortion’s] negative effects on the relationship, unsatisfying relationships, and not having had a previous child.” ¹⁹

Focus on the Family Resources
Tilly (radio drama) Focus on the Family radio broadcast CS335
suggested donation $7
www.family.org/resources/itempg.cfm?itemid=2870
The Post-Abortion Kit: Resources for Those Suffering From the Aftermath of Abortion, CRO75
suggested donation $10
www.family.org/resources/itempg.cfm?itemid=2326
Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion by Theresa Burke and David Reardon suggested donation $25
www.family.org/resources/itempg.cfm?itemid=3428

Additional Resources
Crutcher, Mark. (1996). Lime five: Exploited by choice.
This book exposes the dangers awaiting women who choose legal abortion.
To order, call Life Dynamics at 1-800-401-6494.
Christi’s Choice (1996).
A videotape featuring the parents of a young woman permanently injured by legal abortion.
To order, call Life Dynamics at 1-800-401-6494.

Other Organizations
Elliot Institute
PO Box 7348
Springfield, IL 62791
Publishes “The Post-Abortion Review”
www.afterabortion.org
Ramah International
Provides post-abortion resources and training
www.ramahinternational.org
(This page was originally posted on September 9, 2003.)

Carrie Gordon Earll is the Senior Policy Analyst for Bioethics at Focus on the Family and a fellow with the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity.

Insert: Story of Sharon Osbourne's abortion, Sharon Unxpurgated, Jenny Johnston, Dec 18, 2004, Associated Newspapers, Ltd. ¹Warren Hern, Abortion Practices, (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1990), p. 175-193.
< ²Brenda Major, et al., "Psychological Responses of Women After First- Trimester Abortions," Archives of General Psychology 57 (August 2000): 777-784.
³ John Thorp, et al, “Long-term physical and psychological health consequences of induced abortion: Review of the evidence,” Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey, January 2003, 58 (1): 67-79.
⁴Weijin Zhou, et al., "Induced Abortion and Low Birth Weight in the Following Pregnancy," International Journal of Epidemiology 29 (1) (2000): 100-106; Weijin Zhou, et al., "Induced Abortion and Subsequent Pregnancy Duration," Obstetrics and Gynecology Vol. 94, No. 6 (1999): 948-53.
⁵Anna Kalandidi, et al., "Induced Abortions, Contraceptive Practices, and Tobacco Smoking as Risk Factors for Ectopic Pregnancy in Athens, Greece," British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Vol. 98, No. 2 (1991): 207-13; Ann A. Levin, et al., "Ectopic Pregnancy and Prior Induced Abortion," American Journal of Public Health 72 (March 1982): 253-256.
⁶Ann A. Levin, "Association of Induced Abortion with Subsequent Pregnancy Loss," Journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 243, No. 24 (1980): 2495-99.
⁷Kenneth Schultz, et al., "Measures to Prevent Cervical Injury During Suction Curettage Abortion," The Lancet, (May 28, 1983): 1182-1184.
⁸Shari Linn, et al., "The Relationship Between Induced Abortion and Outcome of Subsequent Pregnancies," American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Vol. 146, No. 2 (1983): 136-140.
⁹Joel Brind, et al., "Induced Abortion as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Review and Meta-Analysis," Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 50 (1996): 481-496. For more information on this topic, go to http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com and http://www.bcpinstitute.org
¹⁰Katrina Armstrong, et al., "Assessing the Risk of Breast Cancer," New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 342, No. 8 (2000): 564-571.
< ¹¹John Thorp, et al., “Long-term physical and psychological health consequences of induced abortion: Review of the evidence,” Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey, January 2003, 58 (1): 67-79.
¹²David Reardon, et al., "Abortion and Subsequent Substance Abuse," American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Vol. 26, No. 1 (2000): 61-75.
¹³Major, Archives of General Psychology, 2000.
¹⁴Paul Dagg, "The Psychological Sequelae of Therapeutic Abortion—Denied and Completed," American Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 148, No. 5 (1991): 583-584.
¹⁵J.R. Ashton, "The Psychosocial Outcome of Induced Abortion," British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 87 (December 1980): 1120-1122.
¹⁶Hanna Soderberg, et al., "Emotional Distress Following Induced Abortion: A Study of its Incidence and Determinants Among Abortees in Malno, Sweden," European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology Vol. 79, No. 2 (1998): 173-8.
¹⁷Mika Gissler, et al., "Suicides After Pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94: Register Linkage Study," British Medical Journal 313 (1996): 1431-1434.
¹⁸Christopher Morgan, "Mental Health may Deteriorate as a Direct Efect of Induced Abortion," British Medical Journal 314 (1997): 902.
¹⁹Pierre Lauzon, et al., “Emotional distress among couples involved in first-trimester induced abortions,” Canadian Family Physician, October, 2000, 46:2033-2040.

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