Physical Dangers Associated With Abortion
Physical
Dangers Associated With Abortion
Approximately 10% of women
undergoing induced abortion suffer from immediate complications, of which
one-fifth (2%) were considered major.19 However the majority of
complications take time to develop and will not be apparent for days, months or
even years.
Negative psychological reactions to
abortion are more common than physical complications. These are
described in a later section.
The major physical risks and
complications of abortion are described below. Citations to the medical
literature regarding each danger or risk are included as end notes at the
bottom of this page.
ELEVATED
RISK OF DEATH
According to the best record based
study of deaths following pregnancy and abortion, a 1997 government funded study
in Finland, women who abort are approximately four times more likely to
die in the following year than women who carry their pregnancies to term. In
addition, women who carry to term are only half as likely to die as women who
were not pregnant.
The Finland researchers found that
compared to women who carried to term, women who aborted in the year prior to
their deaths were 60 percent more likely to die of natural causes, seven times
more likely to die of suicide, four times more likely to die of injuries
related to accidents, and 14 times more likely to die from homicide.
Researchers believe the higher rate
of deaths related to accidents and homicide may be linked to higher rates of
suicidal or risk-taking behavior.16 (Click here for
details on the latest research regarding abortion associated deaths.)
The leading causes of abortion
related maternal deaths within a week of the surgery are hemorrhage, infection,
embolism, anesthesia, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies. Legal abortion is
reported as the fifth leading cause of maternal death in the United States,
though in fact it is recognized that most abortion-related deaths are not
officially reported as such.2 (Click here for more details on the underreporting of abortion
related deaths in the U.S.)
Two studies of the entire population
of women in Denmark published in 2012 have shown similar results.
The first found that the risk of death following abortion
remains higher in each of the first ten years following the abortion.
The second found that the risk of death increases with each
abortion, 45% after one abortion, 114% after two abortions, and 192 percent
after three or more abortions.
For a complete review of the
literature see Deaths associated with abortion compared to
childbirth: a review of new and old data and the medical and legal implications
(2004).
CERVICAL,
OVARIAN, AND LIVER CANCER
Women with a history of one abortion
face a 2.3 times higher risk of having cervical cancer, compared to women with
no history of abortion. Women with two or more abortions face a 4.92
relative risk. Similar elevated risks of subsequent ovarian and liver cancer
have also been linked to single and multiple abortions. These increased cancer
rates for post-aborted women may be linked to the unnatural disruption of
the hormonal changes which accompany pregnancy and untreated cervical damage or
to increased stress and the negative impact of stress on the immune system.4
UTERINE
PERFORATION
Between 2 and 3% of all abortion
patients may suffer perforation of their uterus, yet most of these injuries
will remain undiagnosed and untreated unless laparoscopic visualization is
performed.5 Such an examination may be useful when beginning an
abortion malpractice suit. The risk of uterine perforation is increased for
women who have previously given birth and for those who receive general
anesthesia at the time of the abortion.(6) Uterine damage may result in
complications in later pregnancies and may eventually evolve into problems
which require a hysterectomy, which itself may result in a number of additional
complications and injuries including osteoporosis.
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