Another Abortion Link

Yesterday I posted on the link that's been found between abortions and breast cancer.

Today I saw this article in yesterday's LifeSiteNews (HT: WorldNetDaily), which reports on a study from Finland showing a link between abortion and suicide.

The epidemiological study, published in the European Journal of Public Health, was conducted by Finland's National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health (STAKES). The researchers looked at data between 1987 and 2000 on all deaths among women of reproductive age (15 to 49).

While the risk of death from suicide, accidents, and homicide was highest among women who had abortions within the prior year, the risk of death was lowest among women who gave birth within the prior year, who had less than half the death rate of women who had not been pregnant. The risk of death following a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, however, did not significantly differ from the risk of death among non-pregnant women.

There were similar findings in earlier studies in Finland and the United States.

In addition, researchers examining death records linked to medical payments for birth and abortion for 173,000 California women found that aborting women were 62 percent more likely to die than delivering women over the eight year period examined. That study also found that the increase risk of death was most prominent from suicides and accidents, with a 154 percent higher risk of death from suicide and an 82 percent higher risk of death from accidental injuries.

Let me emphasize that these deaths are not just directly from abortions gone bad. They are all deaths--suicide, accident, etc.

Previous studies have also linked abortion to higher rates of substance abuse, anxiety, sleep disorders, suicidal thoughts, psychiatric illness, relationship problems, and risk-taking behavior, any of which may increase a women's risk of death by suicide or accident.

The women I know who have had abortions didn't die in the year after that. But from the things they've told me and the way they lead (or used to lead) their lives, I know that their first abortion marked a drastic change in their heart, self-respect, and lifestyle. Some went wild and others withdrew into abusive relationships. Both reactions are risky.

Granted, anecdotes are not empirical research, but my friends put a face to the statistics, because they are (or were--some found Christ, who changed their lives around) living out the reality of this research.

Bottom line (again): Don't have abortions (and don't encourage the women in your life to have them), because the risks after the fact are too high.