Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Why do so many women die after abortions?

An extensive study in Finland found that women who choose abortion are four times more likely to die in the year following the abortion than women who choose birth.

In every single area -- natural death, accidental death, suicide, and homicide, women who chose abortion are at higher risk than women who gave birth.

The rate of natural death was slightly higher. In the year following abortion, women in the study were four times more likely to die of accidents than women who had given birth. After abortion, women were found to be seven times more likely to die by their own hand than were women who gave birth. The most shocking finding, however, was the especial vulnerability of post-abortion women to death by homicide in the year following their abortions. Post-abortion women were eight times more likely to be murdered in the year following their pregnancies than were women who gave birth.

What are the dynamics here? A lot of it no doubt relates to lifestyle choices that lead to abortion to begin with, such as risk-taking, being in abusive relationships, and so forth. But wouldn't it be better to address correctible lifestyle choices than to focus on the fetus and act as if removing it solves all of the woman's life problems?

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