Distinguished academic tells MPs about the mental health risks of abortion
from SPUC:
“I want this information to reach those who can make a difference.”
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children yesterday (March 14th) held an event in Parliament, asking the question “Is Abortion a Mental Health Risk?”
The talk was given by Prof Priscilla Coleman, an academic psychologist of Human Development at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and was hosted by pro-life MP Sir Edward Leigh.
Wealth of evidence
Prof Coleman, who has written articles for a number of peer-reviewed journals, including the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the Journal of Medical Ethics, and European Journal of Public Health, shared her extensive research on the psychological effects of abortion with MPs from all the major parties. Her work has been praised and defended by Professor David Fergusson an eminent psychologist who has written in the same area.
She told the assembled MPs, peers and guests that there are over 100 studies identifying a range of risk-factors for post-abortion psychological and relational problems. For example, 14 studies have found that there are mental health consequences for women who have been coerced or pressured into abortion, and 27 listed ambivalence about the abortion decision as a factor.
Despite the availability of strong research documenting risk factors and professional awareness of them, abortion providers rarely, if ever, routinely screen for them and counsel women at risk, she said.
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