In spite of the hype from the mainstream media, a new study from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health is claiming that abortion is 44 times safer than childbirth, but a closer look behind the headlines reveals that this conclusion is based on “junk data.”According to the lead author of the new study, Maria Steenland, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, “Our new analysis shows that it is far more dangerous to be pregnant than to have an abortion, and this gap in mortality risk is even larger than previously recognized.”
However, David C. Reardon, Director of Elliott Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching and educating women on the dangers of abortion, found that their analysis was based upon the a comparison between the number of maternal deaths associated with childbirth which are required to be reported and investigated in all 50 states – with deaths due to abortion which are not systematically reported or investigated in any of the 50 states. . “Steenland et all argues that abortion bans will increase mortality rates of women. The fundamental problem with this analysis is that it ignores the fact that there is no systematic process for identification and collection of abortion related deaths,” Reardon writes in a critique of the study published in the journal. “Steenland is comparing a well-researched statistic . . . with unreliably reported abortion deaths.”
It’s also important to note that, according to the CDC, “abortion related deaths” are defined as any “death from a direct complication of an [induced] abortion (legal or illegal), an indirect complication caused by a chain of events initiated by an abortion, or an aggravation of a preexisting condition by the physiologic or psychologic effects of abortion”.”
In other words, any comparison of abortion related deaths should include deaths from suicide, which can occur years later but are known to increase after abortion.
“Steenland’s decision to include only deaths related to abortion deaths in the short-term also ignores strong evidence that abortion contributes to an increased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and other causes,” Reardon points out.
He cites an example of a population study conducted in Quebec that found a 50% increased risk of premature death for fifteen years following abortion with elevated death rates for suicide, sepsis, cardiovascular and renal disease.
“In short, the best available evidence shows that abortion is an independent risk factor for a 50% higher rate of death than for women who carry to term,” he writes. “Therefore, Steenland et al's assertion that abortion bans will increase maternal mortality is not supported by good evidence. It is instead an example of why abortion proponents routinely oppose the laws and regulations necessary to provide for adequate surveillance of abortion related injuries. Junk data makes it easier to pretend that abortion is safe.”
The Steenland study also includes a Conflict of Interest Disclosure revealing that study co-author Benjamin P. Brown, MD, serves on the board of the pro-abortion Physicians for Reproductive Care, the Womxn Project Education Fund, and serves on the national medical committee for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Visit the Elliott Insitutute's website for the latest research on the impact of abortion on women's lives.
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