Abortion Increases Women's Risk of Depression, New Study Shows; Cure is to Acknowledge Grief After Abortion, Experts Say 4/24/2002
From: Elliot Institute, 217-525-8202 Rachel's Vineyard, 610-354-0555 National Memorial for the Unborn, 800-505-5565 SPRINGFIELD, Ill., April 24 -- After she was raped by a member of her school's football team, high school cheerleader Lorraine Williams thought abortion was her best -- even her only -- choice. Only decades later did she realize how much the abortion had emotionally affected her. "I actually never tied the abortion to the chronic depression I had," Williams said. "To tell you the truth, it was almost 35 years later...that I began to talk about it and this literally came up. I had no idea that I had buried it so deep." Williams is not alone. A study recently published in the prestigious British Medical Journal examined a national sample of 1,086 American women who had a history of unintended first pregnancies. Depression scores revealed that women who had abortions had significantly higher risk of clinical depression compared to women who delivered unintended pregnancies. "These findings are consistent with other research linking abortion to higher subsequent rates of suicide, substance abuse, and other psychological reactions," said lead researcher Dr. David Reardon, director of the Elliot Institute, which undertook the study. "What makes this study especially important, however, is that it looked at depression rates for a number of years after abortion and reveals that the link between abortion and higher depression rates persists over at least eight years." Psychotherapist Dr. Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel's Vineyard post-abortion ministries, said she has seen many women haunted by depression after abortion. More than 6,000 women have participated in Rachel's Vineyard retreats that are held throughout the country. "Most of women I have counseled experienced moderate to severe depression at some point after their abortions," said Burke, who co-authored the new book Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion with Reardon. "Sadly, many found their experiences dismissed by their families, friends, and even their therapists. Their grief is often ignored." At the National Memorial for the Unborn in Chattanooga, Tenn., thousands have placed the names of their aborted children on a 50-foot granite "Wall of Names." According to the memorial's administrator, Rita Siegler, "When couples see that their child and their experience with abortion is validated and treated with dignity and respect, this can help them attain a greater level of healing." Contacts: Elliot Institute, 217-525-8202, Web: http://www.afterabortion.org Rachel's Vineyard, 610-354-0555, Web: http://www.rachelsvineyard.org National Memorial for the Unborn, 800-505-5565, Web: http://www.memorial-unborn.org |