Are legal abortions safe abortions?

The fact that a licensed physician performs the abortion does not guarantee safety to the woman. No legal abortion is without very real and serious short and long term risks to the physical and emotional health of the woman. Experience shows it is not just a simple 10 minute procedure with no subsequent psychological consequences.

Not all women who have had an abortion will suffer from symptoms and those who do may not suffer all of them nor to the same degree. The physical and psychological complications which may occur cannot be predicted in any one person – they can happen to anyone – and there is not way of judging beforehand who will be burdened.

Physical complications of abortion

A woman who has chosen abortion can lose her health. In addition to the women who experience a punctured womb or are killed on abortion tables, there are more subtly damaging effects. The opening of the uterus, the cervix, is designed to happen gradually over several days at the end of pregnancy. In many abortions the cervix is wrenched open in a matter of minutes. The delicate muscle fibres can be damaged – a damage that may go unnoticed until she is far into a later, wanted pregnancy, and then they give way in a miscarriage. By some estimates, the aborted woman’s chance of later miscarriages doubles.

Surgical injury may lead to haemorrhage, infection and weakness of the uterus which could complicate future pregnancies. The commonest injury is uterine perforation. Reported figures are 0.8-6.4 for every 1000 abortion procedures but they are probably higher as many perforations are unrecognised.

Incomplete removal of the placental tissue from the uterus may result in continuing haemorrhage and a later repeat curettage.

Infection may be introduced at the time of operation and exacerbated if some of the placental tissue has not been completely removed. Infection is treated with antibiotics but often permanent damage occurs resulting in pelvic pain, recurrent infections, uterine bleeding and sterility.

Infertility often has multiple and difficult causes, which are difficult to pinpoint, but tubal damage even of a minor degree is a common cause. Tubal damage can be caused by infection due to abortion, inter-uterine device or as a result of a sexually transmitted disease. In many cases abortion appears to be the cause, and the resulting sterility which is often permanent produces distress and guilt.

There is clear evidence that late miscarriage and premature birth due to cervical incompetence is often associated with a previous induced abortion. This problem is usually recurrent in each subsequent pregnancy. At least 50% of patients with cervical incompetence have had a previous induced abortion. This problem results in very premature birth, the baby often not surviving or requiring many weeks in the intensive care nursery.

About 10% of surviving babies are left with a permanent disability. Complications may also arise in labour if there has been injury to the uterus caused by perforation, cervical tear or scar tissue resulting from the insertion of a cervical suture. The uterus may rupture during labour resulting in severe haemorrhage and occasionally death.

Post Abortion Syndrome

Post Abortion Syndrome is defined as "A delayed or slow developing, prolonged and sometimes chronic grief syndrome." It encumbers a woman’s ability to process the fear, anger, sadness and guilt surrounding her abortion experience.

Agencies, institutions, organisations, or individuals involved in referring for, or performing abortions are inappropriate agencies to provide abortion or post abortion counselling. There are some aspects of PAS which professionals involved in the abortion industry are unable to deal with.

In practically every case documented by post-abortion counsellors, the woman was not given all the facts surrounding abortion.

Quote from Melbourne obstetrician and gynaecologist: "A review of the medical literature identifies approximately 10% of women, perfectly healthy prior to abortion, as having long term serious physical and psychological problems following abortion."

In South Australia Birthline has a 24 hour telephone counselling service on 08 8363 1444 and trained counsellors can listen, empathise and offer assistance.

Post Abortion Syndrome can be very severe. It can lead to psychiatric hospitalisation and suicidal behaviour. It can cripple a woman’s ability to function in normal relationships, cause marriage breakdowns and be an underlying factor in child abuse. It can lead to drug and alcohol abuse which can then become serious problems in themselves.

Symptoms are depression, frequent weeping, feelings of guilt and loss of self-esteem, inability to communicate, suicidal rumination, impaired efficiency in all sorts of circumstances, loss of normal sexual vitality and desire in the sense of sexual personhood, and nightmares. Strong emotions of grief, sadness, inappropriate emotional responsiveness, shame, anger and alienation are all common. Anorexia, bulimia, and recourse to alcohol and drugs can develop.

If the syndrome persists and is not treated adequately, personality changes will gradually emerge and affect family life, working capacity, social and recreational potentials. Affected women are not able to function properly with their partners, nor able to bond with their children. They often have an ‘atonement child’ – a deliberate pregnancy trying to make up for the aborted baby – and often smother this child with over-protective behaviour.

Abortion may be followed by a long period of unrecognised negative reactions. The woman may appear well adjusted and unaffected, but may experience trauma on the anniversary of the abortion date, the due date of birth, or years later.

Sometimes confused with postnatal depression, PAS may be triggered following the birth of a subsequent ‘wanted’ child, although not always the first subsequent ‘wanted’ child.

Other causes of anxiety can bring it to the fore, such as the death of a loved one, the failure to conceive, the loss of a wanted child, the miscarriage of a wanted baby, the birth of a niece, nephew or grandchild, the onset of menopause.

The best available data indicates the period of denial and rationalisation lasts on average five to ten years.

Who is at risk from Post Abortion Sydrome?

• Women who abort for health reasons – either the woman’s health or for foetal abnormalities
  

• Women with a previous psychiatric history
  

• Women with interpersonal relationship difficulties
  

• The emotionally unstable or immature woman
  

• Women with an inadequate network of social support
  

• Women who feel forced to abort by their emotional, financial or social circumstances
  

• Adolescents
  

• Women with a history of sexual abuse or sexual assault
  

• Women who have second trimester abortions
  

• Women with a history of previous abortions
  

• Women who make their decision to abort on inadequate information
  

• Physical complications resulting from abortion may aggravate PAS

One man who watched his wife gradually disintegrate after her abortion asked "What kind of trade-off is control of your body for control of your mind?"