Quote:

---

THE ABORTION / SUICIDE CONNECTION

David C. Reardon, Ph.D.

In the 1960's, when abortions were available only for "therapeutic" reasons, it was not uncommon for persons with the means and know-how to obtain an abortion on psychiatric grounds. In some states, all that was necessary was to find an agreeable psychiatrist willing to diagnose every woman with a problem pregnancy as "suicidal."

Yet all the studies done on this issue show that pregnancy is actually correlated with a dramatic decreased rate of suicide compared to non-pregnant women. This has led some psychiatrists to suggest that pregnancy somehow serves a psychologically protective role. The presence of another person to "live for" appears to reduce the suicidal impulses of a mentally disturbed or deeply depressed woman.(1)

Although pregnancy weakens suicidal impulses, there is strong evidence that abortion dramatically increases the risk of suicide. According to a 1986 study by researchers at the University of Minnesota, a teenage girl is 10 times more likely to attempt suicide if she has had an abortion in the last six months than is a comparable teenage girl who has not had an abortion.(2) Other studies have found similar statistical significance between a history of abortion and suicide attempts among adults. Thus, the actual data suggests that abortion is far more likely to drive an unstable woman to suicide than is pregnancy and childbirth.

This abortion/suicide link is well known among professionals who counsel suicidal persons. For example, Meta Uchtman, director of the Cincinnati chapter of Suiciders Anonymous, reported that in a 35 month period her group worked with 4000 women, of whom 1800 or more had abortions. Of those who had abortions, 1400 were between the ages of 15 and 24, the age group with the fastest growing suicide rate in the country.

[article continues]

---

Quote:

---

Yet all the studies done on this issue show that pregnancy is actually correlated with a dramatic decreased rate of suicide compared to non-pregnant women.

---

Quote:

---

Painful Periods (Dysmenorrhoea)
It is estimated that between 50 and 70 percent of women endure some degree of period pain and cramping. Of those, approximately 10 percent experience contractions so extreme that they are one and a half times more powerful than labour pains.

How painful is painful?
Every month many women suffer from pain around the time of their periods. For some women the pain can be so debilitating that they are forced to take time off work or can only get through their periods by dosing themselves with painkillers. Pain is normally considered to be a message from your body, telling you that something is wrong and that an investigation is in order. However, painful periods are viewed somewhat differently by the medical profession and many women who complain of period pains are advised to take a painkiller and to get on with it.

Every one of us has a different pain threshold, and it is impossible to imagine what another person might be experiencing. Only you know whether or not your period pains are unacceptably high for you, and if the pain is affecting the quality of your life, it's time to do something about it.

---

Quote:

---

Studies show you to be wrong.

Clicky

Quote:

---

THE ABORTION / SUICIDE CONNECTION

David C. Reardon, Ph.D.

---

---

Quote:

---

Intelligent design proponents aren't the only religious conservatives who have adopted the trappings of science. Take David Reardon, an Illinois-based researcher who during the 1980s set out to prove that abortion causes mental illness, chemical dependency, and a range of other poor health outcomes in women. It's true that women sometimes feel temporarily depressed or guilty after an abortion. But the notion that abortion regularly causes severe or clinical mental problems has been rejected by, among others, a group of experts convened by the American Psychological Association and Ronald Reagan's surgeon general, C. Everett Koop. (See sidebar.)

Reardon first emerged on the intellectual scene in 1987 with a book titled Aborted Women, Silent No More, a review of the "evidence" on abortion's after-effects that included testimonies from women who had undergone post-abortion religious conversions. The next year, Reardon founded his own quasi-academic think tank, the Elliot Institute for Social Sciences Research. At the time, Reardon had a background in electronic engineering; he's since acquired a Ph.D. in biomedical ethics from Pacific Western University, an unaccredited correspondence school offering no classroom instruction.

Over the years, Reardon has managed to publish a number of abortion-related papers in scientific journals. But at best, he has been able to show correlations between abortion and, say, depression or alcoholism--not causation. In a 2003 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, for instance, Reardon and co-authors reported that women who undergo abortions end up being admitted for psychiatric care more frequently than those who do not. But as numerous critics pointed out, that hardly proved that abortion causes mental problems. In a rebuttal of the study, University of California at Santa Barbara psychologist Brenda Major noted that Reardon's group failed to control for the different life circumstances of women who choose to abort versus those who have a planned pregnancy. (Women who opt for abortion, for example, tend not to be married or in intimate relationships--factors themselves linked to poorer mental health.)

Confronted with such criticisms, Reardon avers that "proving causation is always very difficult." Yet "in well-designed studies that control for variables Reardon fails to take into account, legal abortion is not found to be associated with degradation in mental health," notes Nancy Felipe Russo, a psychologist at Arizona State University. Reardon doesn't just read the data differently; he appears to see what he wants to see. In a recent essay in the conservative journal Ethics & Medicine, Reardon defended what he called the "Neglected Rhetorical Strategy" of opposing abortion on the grounds that it hurts women, instead of simply because it's morally wrong. "Because abortion is evil, we can expect, and can even know, that it will harm those who participate in it," he wrote. "Nothing good comes from evil." That's theological, not scientific thinking. But it has been influential. Recently, conservative Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) sponsored a bill in the House of Representatives to provide $ 15 million in federal funding for research on "post-abortion depression."

---

Quote:

---

Sadly, there are no such facts. There just are none.

---

Quote:

---

David C. Reardon, Ph.D., director of the Elliot Institute,  is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on the aftereffects of abortion on women, a field in which he has specialized since 1983. He is the author of numerous books and popular and scholarly articles on this topic.


His studies have been published in such prestigious medical journals as the British Medical Journal and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and have proven that abortion compared to childbirth is associated with higher rates of maternal death, psychiatric hospitalization, subsequent substance abuse, clinical depression, and numerous other complications.

Articles about Dr. Reardon and his work have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Newsweek and the New York Times.  He is a frequent guest on Christian radio and Christian television talk shows and has been a key note speaker at many state and national conventions for crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations.

The emphasis of his work has been on promoting a “pro-woman / pro-life” approach to the abortion issue which emphasizes efforts to prevent coerced and unsafe abortions and efforts to create a more healing environment for women, men and families hurting because of a past abortion.

These efforts have led to the development of model legislation called Prevention from Coerced and Unsafe Abortion Act which is being promoted by the Stop Forced Abortions Alliance. This legislation would make it easier for women to hold abortionists liable for psychological injuries associated with abortion, especially when they  fail to screen for coercion and other known risk factors that are strongly associated with increased risk of negative abortion reactions.   Versions of this legislation have recently been passed in Nebraska and South Dakota.

This approach has proven to be controversial.  In general, some pro-life leaders have argued Reardon’s effort to focus on how abortion hurts women, men, and family distracts people from the unborn victims.   More specifically, some pro-life legislative strategists have actively opposed passage of the Prevention of Coerced and Unsafe Abortion Act insisting that all political resources should be focused on efforts which emphasize the humanity of the unborn child (ultrasound, fetal development) and the cruelty of abortion to the unborn (partial birth abortions, fetal pain).

Dr. Reardon was propelled to center stage of the pro-life movement after the publication of his first book Aborted Women, Silent No More, in 1987. It has become the best-selling book on abortion’s impact on women and has been called “the most powerful book ever written on abortion.”

His most recent book, Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion, co-authored with Dr. Theresa Burke, is the most comprehensive review of the impact of abortion on women available. It is a compelling revelation of the secrets post-abortive women tell only their therapists but want everyone to know. Reviewers are already hailing it as “phenomenal” and a “classic.”

Dr. Reardon is also the author of Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation (Acorn Books, 1996). Pro-life leaders have recommended it as compulsory reading for every pro-lifer who wants to know how abortion can be stopped in a way that is “practical and realistic, but free of moral compromise.” Dr. Reardon’s three-pronged strategy for ending abortion has already been adopted by many pro-life organizations at the local, state, and national levels. It appears certain that the popularity of this new compassionate approach to the abortion conflict will continue to grow and become a permanent part of pro-life activities.

As part of this strategy to end abortion, Dr. Reardon has also authored The Jericho Plan: Breaking Down the Walls That Prevent Post-Abortion Healing. This is a resource book for post-abortion healing. It also serves as a sermon guide that helps ministers and clergy to address the abortion issue in a manner that reduces hostilities and promotes post-abortion healing. Most importantly, The Jericho Plan is helping pastors to overcome the fear of preaching on abortion. It is helping many pastors to break their silence and boldly preach a compassionate message that is truly both pro-life and pro-healing.

In Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault with Julie Makimaa and Amy Sobie, he compiled the witness and testimonies of 194 women who became pregnant following sexual assault. The nearly universal opinion of these women demonstrates that abortion is neither helpful nor necessary in cases of rape and incest, and in fact does far greater harm than good to these victims of sexual assault.

---

Quote:

---

Our data showed that the suicide rate associated with birth was half of the general suicide rate in women aged 15–49. This suggests that childbearing prevents suicide or that women capable of giving birth are not at high risk for suicide. The only exception might be teenage mothers, whose suicide rate associated with birth was three times the general rate in this age group. This is, however, a tentative finding because of small numbers.

The suicide rate after an abortion was three times the general suicide rate and six times that associated with birth. Similarly, the rate of psychiatric admissions within three months after the end of pregnancy was 53% higher in women who delivered than in women who had had an induced abortion in a Danish register study.

---

Quote:

---

Low social class and poor social support have been connected with risk factors for suicide after birth. The risk for postnatal depression is greater for women with low income or with occupational instability,20 21 and puerperal psychoses are more common among young mothers and women with poor social support.5 Social class has also been found to be associated with all mental disorders after an abortion.19 22 Data from the abortion register showed that women in the lowest social class were highly over-represented among women who committed suicide. We did not, however, have complete information on social class in our data. No control group for social class after birth and miscarriage and for the general population was available. In addition, the social class was based only on the mother's occupation.

The proportion of divorced women who commit suicide was more than double after an abortion and eight-fold after a birth, which suggests that low social support is associated with suicide. Similarly, in a Danish study, a fivefold rate in admissions to psychiatric hospitals after abortion was found for separated, divorced, or widowed women compared with that of other women.19

The relation between suicide, mental disorders, life events, social class, and social support is a complex one.23 Abortion might mean a selection of women at higher risk for suicide because of reasons like depression. Another explanation for the higher suicide rate after an abortion could be low social class, low social support, and previous life events or that abortion is chosen by women who are at higher risk for suicide because of other reasons. Increased risk for a suicide after an induced abortion can, besides indicating common risk factors for both, result from a negative effect of induced abortion on mental wellbeing. With our data, however, it was not possible to study the causality more carefully.

---

Quote:

---

Shouldn't we be discussing the grounds under which this law was made, rather then entertain JJ's trolling fantasies?

---

Quote:

---

The Catholic family that owns a Colorado-based company won a court victory in their battle to stop the Obama administration from requiring them to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception, a mandate they say violates their religious beliefs and First Amendment rights.

Hercules Industries, a Denver-based heating ventilation and air conditioning manufacturer that employs nearly 300 full-time workers, got an injunction in federal court which stops enforcement of the controversial ObamaCare mandate. The company's lawyers said they needed the injunction immediately because if the mandate is enforced, it must begin immediately making changes to its health plan, which renews on Nov. 1.

The case is similar to ones brought by Catholic-based colleges that have refused to provide employee insurance with such coverage, except this time, it is a secular corporation.


In his order, Colorado District Judge John Kane said that the government’s arguments “are countered, and indeed outweighed, by the public interest in the free exercise of religion."


The case still must be aired out in court, but lawyers representing Hercules savored the  temporary victory.

“Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith. For the time being, Hercules Industries will be able to do just that,” said Matt Bowman, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, the Arizona-based organization representing the Newlands. “The bottom line is that Congress and the Constitution explicitly protect all religious freedom. They don’t exclude family businesses.”

---

Quote:

---

nothing indicates a link between abortion and suicide

---

Quote:

---

By the way, moving from any New England state to Texas involves a high risk of becoming a killer. Or being killed - ok, two sides of the same coin, really.

---

Quote:

---

That a criminal is not a criminal because he was scolded by his first grade teacher or because he tripped over a toy when he was 9 years old or because Mommy spanked his little behind for hitting his sister or because he didn't get to watch his favorite TV show one night when he was 12 or because he watched his favorite TV show when he was 12 or because some girl rejected his advances when he was 16.

---

Quote:

---

Arizona's ban on abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy will take effect this week as scheduled after a federal judge ruled Monday that the new law is constitutional.

U.S. District Judge James Teilborg said the statute may prompt a few pregnant women who are considering abortion to make the decision earlier. But he said the law is constitutional because it doesn't prohibit any women from making the decision to end their pregnancies.

The judge also wrote that the state provided "substantial and well-documented" evidence that an unborn child has the capacity to feel pain during an abortion by at least 20 weeks.

The ban, set to take effect Thursday, is similar but not identical to those enacted by other states. It prohibits abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy except in medical emergencies. That is a change from the current ban at viability, which is the ability to survive outside the womb and which generally is considered to be about 24 weeks. A normal pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks.

......

While North Carolina has long had a 20-week ban, Nebraska in 2010 was the first state to recently enact one. Five more states followed in 2010: Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Along with Arizona, Georgia and Louisiana approved 20-week bans this year, though Georgia's doesn't take effect until 2013.

The Center for Reproductive Rights said none of the 20-week bans have so far been blocked by courts.

---

Quote:

---

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled late Tuesday that Texas can cut off funding for Planned Parenthood clinics that provide health services to low-income women before a trial over a new law that bans state money from going to organizations tied to abortion providers.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans lifted a federal judge's temporary injunction that called for the funding to continue pending an October trial on Planned Parenthood's challenge to the law.

State officials sought to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood clinics that provide family planning and health services to poor women as part of the Texas Women's Health Program after the state's Republican-led Legislature passed a law banning funds to organizations linked to abortion providers. No state money goes to pay for abortions.

The appeal's court decision means Texas is now free to enforce its ban on clinics affiliated with abortion providers. Planned Parenthood provides cancer screenings and other services — but not abortions — to about half of the 130,000 low-income Texas women enrolled in the program, which is designed to provide services to women who might not otherwise qualify for Medicaid.

The ruling is the latest in the ongoing fight over Texas' efforts to halt funding to clinics affiliated with abortion providers. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has said that the new state rule violates federal law. Federal funds paid for 90 percent, or about $35 million, of the $40 million Women's Health Program until the new rule went into effect. Federal officials are now phasing out support for the program.

.....

In a statement, Perry called Tuesday's ruling "a win for Texas women, our rule of law and our state's priority to protect life."

"Texas will continue providing important health services for women through this program in spite of the Obama Administration's disregard for our state law and unilateral decision to defund this program," the governor said.

.....

Abbott cheered the decision Tuesday, noting that it "rightfully recognized that the taxpayer-funded Women's Health Program is not required to subsidize organizations that advocate for elective abortion."

"We are encouraged by today's decision and will continue to defend the Women's Health Program in court," Abbot said in a statement.

The ruling comes as conservative groups across the nation try to pass and enforce laws to put Planned Parenthood out of business and make getting an abortion more difficult. Earlier this year the same court upheld a new Texas law requiring doctors to perform a sonogram and provide women with a detailed description of the fetus before carrying out an abortion.

---