The American Psychological Association lunged headlong into the controversy with the
release of a report from the Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion. The panel, chaired by
California psychology professor, Brenda major, produced a 91-page report concluding that
evidence does not support a link between adverse mental health consequences and abortion.
Experts who tried to .
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College,
points out that Dr. David Fergusson, a pro-abortion researcher, asserts that the APA report is
relies on one flawed study published in 1995. Dr. Fergusson was selected to be one of 20
reviewers of the preliminary draft of the APA paper. Read article by Dr. Throckmorton
More than 100 mental health professionals issued a statement disagreeing with the APA
report. Read Statement
Dr Priscilla Coleman is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at
Bowling Green State University. A major concentration of her research has been the
psychological outcomes among women who have experienced abortion. In an interview, Dr.
Coleman summarizes the most common effects of abortion on women:
- "Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are the effects that have been most
actively studied and seem to be most common. Not only is there scientific evidence for
an association between abortion and poor mental health, but studies have further
indicated that abortion is related to an increased likelihood of sexual dysfunction,
communication problems, and separation or divorce."
Read Dr. Coleman's critique of APA report
American Psychological Association Ignores Abortion-Mental Health Problem Link
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com)
A panel of the American Psychological Association released a new report Wednesday that
came to the conclusion skeptics predicted. The organization, which supports legalized
abortion, claims abortion causes no mental health problems despite recent research proving
otherwise. Real full story
Researcher: APA Chair Withholding Info on Abortions Mental Health Risks
by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor August 15, 2008 Washington, DC -- One of the leading
researchers into the aftereffects of abortion on women says he believes the chair of the
American Psychological Association task force that issued a recent report saying abortion
poses no mental health risks for women violated APA's own ethics rules. Dr. David Reardon,
the head of the Illinois-based Elliot Institute, says the report is tarnished by the fact that the
lead author, Dr. Brenda Major, has violated the APA's own data sharing rules. Read full story
FRC urges new APA report -- Calls for Action
The Family Research Center is urging the American Psychological Association to do
a new report that studies ALL the mental health risks to women that abortion poses. Research
needs to be broader in scope and include studies that the APA report ignored; for example,
studies that have highlighted the high prevalence of women affected by repeat abortions or
studies that have shown an equally high number of women in the U.S. who have felt "coerced"
into their abortions. FRC call to ACTION
How The APA Denied Abortion's Mental Health Risks by Rachel M. MacNair, Ph.D
Note: Dr. Rachel M. MacNair, is the director of the Institute for Integrated Social Analysis, the
research arm of Consistent Life. She is the author of ProLife Feminism, Yesterday and Today.
We have known for a long time that the word "choice" in the abortion debate doesn't mean
what it means in regular English, having become a euphemism for abortion rather than a
matter of actually having options. Now we find that "science" means what the American
Psychological Association (APA) says it means, rather than what those of us trained in a
university might have been taught. Read full story at Life News
| American Psychological Association ignores evidence |
| "We have known for a long time that the word 'choice' in the abortion debate doesn't mean wat it means in regular English, having become a uphemism for abortion rather than a matter of actually having options. Now 'science' means what the American Psychological says it means, rather than what those of us trained in a university might have been taught." -- Rachel M. MacNair Ph.D |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
