Revealed: how an abortion puts the next baby at risk

Revealed: how an abortion puts the next baby at risk
By Michael Day
(Filed: 15/05/2005)

Having an abortion almost doubles a woman's risk of giving birth dangerously early in a later pregnancy, according to research that will provoke fresh debate over the most controversial of all medical procedures.

A French study of 2,837 births - the first to investigate the link between terminations and extremely premature births - found that mothers who had previously had an abortion were 1.7 times more likely to give birth to a baby at less than 28 weeks' gestation. Many babies born this early die soon after birth, and a large number who survive suffer serious disability.


The research leader, Dr Caroline Moreau, an epidemiologist at the Hôpital de Bicêtre in Paris, said the results of the study, which appear in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, provided conclusive evidence of a link between induced abortion and subsequent pre-term births.

Last night anti-abortion campaigners seized on the evidence to demand that all women seeking a termination be warned, routinely, that they are jeopardising the well-being of future babies. A series of earlier, smaller studies had failed to provide clear evidence of a link and so women currently opting for an abortion are not warned of the risk.

Dr Moreau said: "Clearly there is a link. The results suggest that induced abortion can damage the cervix in some way that makes a premature birth more likely in subsequent pregnancies."

Her study compared the medical histories of 2,219 women with babies born at less than 34 weeks with another 618 who had given birth at full term. Overall, women who had had an abortion were 40 per cent more likely to have a very pre-term delivery (less than 33 weeks) than those without such a history. The risk of an extremely premature baby - one born at less than 28 weeks - was raised even more sharply, by 70 per cent. Abortion appeared to increase the risk of most major causes of premature birth, including premature rupture of membranes, incorrect position of the foetus on the placenta and spontaneous early labour. The only common cause of premature birth not linked to abortion was high blood pressure.

Mr Peter Bowen-Simpkins, a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a consultant obstetrician at the Sancta Maria Hospital in Swansea, said the study revealed that abortion might not be as safe as previously supposed. "This study shows that surgical termination of pregnancies may have late complications and may not be without risk," he said.

About 185,000 women have abortions in Britain each year, for social or medical reasons, and last night anti-abortion campaigners seized upon the new study as evidence that the risks have been underplayed.

Jack Scarisbrick, the chairman of the campaign group Life, said: ''We have been saying for years that surgical abortion inevitably increases the risk of later problems. It seems that the abortion procedure carries with it risks that women will know nothing about until they become pregnant with a 'wanted' child later on."

About 80,000 babies in the UK and Ireland are born prematurely each year; 17,000 of these need intensive care.

A spokesman for Marie Stopes International, which is the largest provider of abortions outside the NHS, said that women seeking terminations were not told of increased risks of premature births "because so far, they have not been established".
__________________

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...5/nabort15.xml

__________________
Faith itself, compelled by the Holy Spirit, possesses an inner dynamism that necessitates deeper understanding. ~Thomas Weinandy O.F.M.

Scary. My baby was born at 30(ish) weeks, fortunately he was strong enough that he's healthy/normal now. I'd never want to have to go through that again, despite the fact that it was a lot less difficult for me as a result of him being so small. Of course, I'd never have an abortion either, I value life too much (no offense intended to any pro-abortionists).

I wonder if the same is true if the woman has had a miscarriage. A friend of mine had a miscarriage, and when she tried again she had a premature baby which didn't survive. But I don't know why she had the miscarriage in the first place. It's probably more likely to have difficulties with pregnancies if you've had a miscarriage previously now that I think about it...

__________________
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."

--Ann Landers

I guess that would depend on the cause of the miscariage.

Regarding this, I've always been of the opinion that women who get abortions should be sterilised - if they're not willing to have one baby they shouldn't be allowed to have another.

“	Originally Posted By: Robin Ashe I guess that would depend on the cause of the miscariage. Regarding this, I've always been of the opinion that women who get abortions should be sterilised - if they're not willing to have one baby they shouldn't be allowed to have another.	”

You do have a point, except I can understand why some women would choose to have abortions in certain circumstances. But I don't really see how they would be able to live with themselves later on in life, especially if they have difficulties having kids when they want them as a result of a past abortion.

__________________
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."

--Ann Landers

Yeah, I can see that too, but it's not like there was absolutely no way they couldn't carry the child to term and then give it up for adoption.

“	Originally Posted By: Robin Ashe Regarding this, I've always been of the opinion that women who get abortions should be sterilised - if they're not willing to have one baby they shouldn't be allowed to have another.	”

This statement is wrong to me for so many reasons...incest, rape, mother's health in jeopardy all seem a valid reason for a female to have a pregnancy terminated. I think men who have kids and don't pay child support should be sterilized.

__________________
Si hoc non legere potes tu asinus es

People who cut funding for schools should be too.

__________________
"Learning is for seeking the Way; what is the use of learning otherwise?" - Master Zhu

Something tells me it would be beside the point for ol' Robin Ashe-
























hole.

“	Originally Posted By: n1ckmeyer People who cut funding for schools should be too.	”

?????????????????????????????????????

If you don't pay - you don't play

To clarify (and this was said in a pique of humor - so relax)

People who do not want to pay school taxes should not be allowed to have children.

It's the whole "be responsible" thing...

__________________
"Learning is for seeking the Way; what is the use of learning otherwise?" - Master Zhu

“	Originally Posted By: KungFu Krissy This statement is wrong to me for so many reasons...incest, rape, mother's health in jeopardy all seem a valid reason for a female to have a pregnancy terminated. I think men who have kids and don't pay child support should be sterilized.	”

Mothers life in jeopardy is the only valid reason. All the others is no reason to kill a completely innocent child.

“	no offense intended to any pro-abortionists	”

Nobody is pro-abortion. Some of us just happen to believe that in such morally ambiguous areas the choice should be left to the individual, not a bunch of moral fascists who believe they have the right to make other's choices for them. This is called being pro choice.

“	is no reason to kill a completely innocent child	”

No, there's rarely a morally good reason to kill a child, innocent or otherwise and there are laws to prevent people doing so. Abortion is not killing a child. It is removing a growth which may or may not become a child. What constitutes a human life is deeply unclear. I prefer we as individuals be allowed to make the judgement call on the point at which a foetus becomes one rather than having it determined for us by the state.

Abortion is a medical procedure and medical procedures have risks. Some people are politically oposed to certain medical procedures and like to play up those risks. The doctor quoted makes no mention of other factors - like age - that might be playing a role. Pregnant women who have had an abortion are likely to be older than pregnant women who have not. She makes no mention of what role the medic's skill plays in the risk. Isn't a legal abortion performed by a skilled doctor less risky than an illegal one performed by an amature? She makes no mention of the point at which the abortion occurs and whether later term abortions are less safe. Any woman having an abortion will have the known risks explained to her. It is then up to her, not a bunch of interfearing, self-righteous crusaders, what she chooses to do.

__________________
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you
High mountains are a feeling
I don't need to sell my soul, he's already in me

“	Nobody is pro-abortion. Some of us just happen to believe that in such morally ambiguous areas the choice should be left to the individual, not a bunch of moral fascists who believe they have the right to make other's choices for them. This is called being pro choice.	”

It's a euphemism for pro-abortion and the pro-"choice" people are hypocrites. They say it shouldn't be up to others to make choices for them yet here they are going and making the choice that an innocent child who hasn't had a real chance at life should die.

“	No, there's rarely a morally good reason to kill a child, innocent or otherwise and there are laws to prevent people doing so. Abortion is not killing a child. It is removing a growth which may or may not become a child. What constitutes a human life is deeply unclear. I prefer we as individuals be allowed to make the judgement call on the point at which a foetus becomes one rather than having it determined for us by the state.	”

That's just rationalising. Just like Nazis rationalised killing Jews by considering them a sub-race. When something is unclear you don't just go "oh well, we're not sure if its alive or not so we'll stick a blender on a stick up the uterus and chop it into little pieces anyway".

“	Originally Posted By: john100 : not a bunch of moral fascists who believe they have the right to make other's choices for them. choice.	”

"Moral fascists", what's that?

“	Originally Posted By: john100 : Abortion is not killing a child. It is removing a growth which may or may not become a child. What constitutes a human life is deeply unclear. .	”

That particular argument just reeks of a lack of conviction. That is clintonesque double-speak covering for a moral position you can't even convince yourself of.