Doctors slam ‘abortion safer than childbirth’ study

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 24, 2012 - A study by family planning advocates concluding that abortion is safer for women than carrying a child to term has been sharply criticized by doctors who say the years-old claim has been debunked by data on the long-term effects of abortion.

Dr. Elizabeth Raymond from Gynuity Health Projects in New York City and Dr. David Grimes of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, published the study in the February 2012 issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, examining estimated mortality rates associated with live births and induced abortions in the United States between 1998–2005.

The data, taken from the Center for Disease Control and the Planned Parenthood-funded Guttmacher Institute, found 8.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, versus 0.6 deaths per 100,000 abortions.



But several pro-life doctors say that, because it fails to include the long-term adverse effects of abortions, the years-old claim that abortion’s mortality rate is lower misrepresents the overall effects of abortion on women versus bringing a child to term.

“[Abortion] is not safe when you look into the long term,” Dr. Mary Davenport, president of the American Association of Pro-Life OB/GYNs, told LifeSiteNews.com.

“They were only talking about immediate death. If you do the math, there is a much higher rate of risk-taking behaviors,” including suicide attempts and substance abuse, said Davenport.

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