In a media release Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission, has called for the Government to put in place a law which requires informed consent including the offer of ultrasound for all potential abortions, and counselling to be provided only by non-providers of abortion services as is being introduced in the UK.
Abortion Harmful to Women’s Mental Health – Study
Media Release 2 September
Family First NZ says that a meta-analysis published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry has revealed that 81 percent of females who had an abortion were found to be at an increased risk for mental health problems, including depression, alcohol abuse and suicidal behaviors.
The study, “Abortion and Mental health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995-2009” by Priscilla Coleman, Ph.D., took into account 22 studies and over 877,000 participants over the 14-year period. The study also reveals that as many as ten percent of all mental health problems are directly attributable to abortion.
“This confirms and is consistent with previous NZ research which showed that abortion harms women. Abortion harms women but poro-abortion groups refuse to acknowledge this, seeing the right to abortion more paramount than the long-term health and welfare of the women. We believe women have the right to the best independent information and advice before making a decision that could impact them later in life,” says Marina Young, Spokesperson for Family First NZ, who through her own abortion experience formed the Buttons Project.
A University of Otago study in 2008 found that women who had an abortion faced a 30% increase in the risk of developing common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Other studies have found a link between abortion and psychiatric disorders ranging from anxiety to depression to substance abuse disorders. And the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK recommended updating abortion information leaflets to include details of the risks of depression. They said that consent could not be informed without the provision of adequate and appropriate information.
“Family First NZ is calling for a law which requires informed consent including the offer of ultrasound for all potential abortions, and counselling to be provided only by non-providers of abortion services as is being introduced in the UK. Parental notification of teenage pregnancy and abortion should happen automatically except in exceptional circumstances approved by the court,” says Mrs Young.
“With 98% of abortions in NZ being performed on the basis of the mental health of the mother, it is time that the research on the post-abortion mental health outcomes was given equal weight against the pro-abortion claims.”
ENDS
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