F.A.C.E. Life - Teens and Abortion

Minor Youth Pregnancy Protection Plan

A horrific child abuse:

MY forced/coerced Abortion

FREE LEGAL HELP AND COUNSELING

American Family Association
Center for Law and Policy
1-800-326-4543 ext. 233

Liberty Counsel
1-800-671-1776
Email:liberty@lc.org

Things you need to know:

LEGAL HELP

If anyone is attempting to force/coerce you into an abortion, your boyfriend, your parents, family or friends, ANYONE, there is FREE legal help and counseling available. These lawyers are here for YOU! And it does not matter where you live, they travel all over the United States to help you for free!

The following is a true story of a 16yr old girl. Her parents were attempting to force her into an abortion. American Family Association, Center for Law and Policy helped her and as a result, she will give birth to her baby. Further, her parents decided not to fight it and has settled out of court. The legal action (restraining order) was taken against the abortuary, not the parents. There is also free housing available if you need it.

Mississippi threatened forced abortion

Court Orders Temporary Halt to Forced Abortion

March 28, a federal court in Jackson, Mississippi issued an emergency Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) barring the forced abortion of a pregnant 16 year old high school junior's unborn child. The girl's parents had scheduled the abortion for 8:00 a.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Jackson Women's Health Organization on State Street.

The girl had pleaded with her parents to let her keep the baby, but they insisted that the abortion must take place. In desperation, the girl contacted attorneys at the AFA Center for Law & Policy on Thursday in hopes that legal action could stop the abortion. AFA attorneys Stephen M. Crampton and Michael J. DePrimo hastily prepared the lawsuit and successfully obtained the TRO from federal Judge William H. Barbour, Jr. late Friday afternoon, only hours before the abortion was scheduled to take place.

"If the right to choose means anything, it means that a mother-to-be may constitutionally decide to give her baby life. The law protects women who choose to keep their child as well as those who choose to abort," said Steve Crampton, Chief Counsel for the Center for Law & Policy (the Center).

"A mother's desire to protect her baby is among the strongest in life. While we are thankful the court entered the order, it is a sad fact that legal action was necessary to save the life of this unborn child," added Mike DePrimo, Senior Litigation Counsel for the Center.

The Center for Law & Policy is the legal arm of the American Family Association, Inc., located in Tupelo, Mississippi. The Center restricts its practice to constitutional litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country.

No mention was made in the Clarion-Ledger of whether the girl had been given shelter elsewhere or whether she remains at home with her parents.

MEDICAL PROBLEMS (the long and short of it)

The following does not list ALL the problems you can have if you have an abortion. There are more...

The Short List:

Complications	Long-Term Physical	Emotion

Perforation of the uterus	Sterility (no more babies)	Guilt and anxiety
Cervical Damage	Breast Cancer	Future Child Abuser
Bleeding and cramping	Miscarriages	Alcohol and/or drug abuse
Lacerations	Death (you and your baby)	Suicide

The Long List:

COMPLICATIONS

Physical and emotional damage from abortion is greater in a young girl. They have immature cervixes and run the risk of a difficult, potentially traumatic dilatation.

C. Cowell, Problems of Adolescent Abortion, Ortho Panel 14, Toronto General Hospital.

The younger the patient, the greater the gestation (age of the unborn), the higher the complication rate!

Some of the most catastrophic complications occur in teenagers. Eighty-seven percent(87%) of 486 obstetricians and gynecologists had to hospitalize at least one patient this year due to complications of legal abortions.

M. Bulfin, M.D., OB-GYN Observer, Oct.-Nov 1975

We have found that teenage mothers, given proper care, have the least complications in childbirth. The younger the mother, the better the birth.

B. Sutton-Smith, Jour. Of Youth and Adolescence. As reported in the New York Times, April 24, 1979

Fifty-four teenage patients were seen with significant complications after legal abortion. None felt they had been afforded any meaningful information about the potential dangers of the abortion operation. Perforation of the uterus, peritonitis, pelvic pain, pelvic abscesses, bleeding and cramping, cervical lacerations, sever hemorrhage and adverse psychological and psychiatric sequelae were noted in various case reports.

A New Problem in Adolescent Gynecology, M Bulfin, Southern Medical Journal 72 (8):967-968, August 1979

Teenagers 17 years old or less were significantly more likely to have postabortion endometritis, cervical lacerations, or hemorrhage greater than 500ml. following abortion compared to women age 20-29.

Morbidity Risk Among Young Adolescents Undergoing Elective Abortion, R.T.Burkman, M.F. Atienza, T.M.King, Contraception 30 (2):99-195, Aug. 1984

There is increased risk of cervical injury during suction curettage abortions obtained by teenagers. These findings caused concern because cervical injury in initial unplanned pregnancies may predispose young women to adverse outcomes in future planned pregnancies.

The Risks Associated with Teenage Abortion, W. Cates, K Schultz, D. Grimes, New England Journal of Medicine, 309 (11):612-624, September, 15, 1983

Women under 17 have been found to face twice the normal risk of suffering cervical damage due to the fact that their cervixes are still green and developing.

Schulz, et al., Measures to Prevent Cervical Injury During Suction Curettage Abortion, The Lancet (May 18, 1983) 1182-1184. Wadhera, Legal Abortion Among Teens, 1974-1978, Canadian Medical Association Journal (June 1980), vol. 122, 1386-1389

LONG-TERM PHYSICAL HEALTH

The relative risk of secondary infertility among women with at least one induced abortion and no spontaneous miscarriages was 3-4 times that among non-aborted women.

D. Trichopoulos et al., Induced Abortion & Secondary Infertility, British Jour. OB/GYN, vol. 83, Aug 1976, pp. 645-650

Among women who had aborted their first pregnancy, there was a 500% increase in subsequent ectopic pregnancies.

Chung et al., Effects of Induced Abortion Complications on Subsequent Reproductive Function, U. of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1981

Tubal pregnancy increased 30% after one abortion and 160% after two or more abortions.

Am. J. Public Health, 72:253-6, 1982

Women with prior abortions consistently reported an excess of symptoms (of menstrual problems) in all age groups.

L. Roth et al., Increased Menstrual Symptoms Among Women Who Used Induced Abortion. Amer. Jour. OB/GYN, vol. 128, no. 5, 1977. pp. 556-559

Dr. BREAST CANCER

Angela Lanfranchi, M.D., F.A.C.S., a clinical assistant professor of surgery associated with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, told the press at a conference sponsored by the Population Research Institute in Santa Clara, California on April 5, 2002 that a teenager who procures an abortion has, At best ... a 30% risk of breast cancer in her lifetime. She added that At worst, if she also has a family history of breast cancer, it will nearly guarantee this. For this reason, she said taking a teenager in a crisis pregnancy for an abortion amounts to child abuse. Martha Shuping, M.D.

Over the past forty-three years 27 out of 33 worldwide studies have shown a correlation between breast cancer and abortion. In the U.S.A., 13 out of 14 studies of American women have implicated abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer. The United Kingdoms Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advices physicians who perform abortions to inform their patients of the risk factor between abortion and breast cancer (RCOG, 2000).

Women younger that 18 that have had an abortion have a 150 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer, with an 800% increased risk if they had their abortions between the 9th and 24th week of pregnancy (cf. Clinical Oncology, 1989, 1:11-18; Am. J Epidemiol, 1990, 131:804-814; Brit. Med. J. 1990, 299:1430-1432; Cancer 1991, 67:1285-1290; Int. J. Cancer, 1991, 48:816-820; JNCI, 1994, 86:1584-1592; J. Epidemiol, 1996, 50:481-196).

Putting an end to abortion would eliminate the No. 1 preventable risk of breast cancer (Chicago Tribune, May 21, 2001)

An induced abortion raises a womans chance of getting breast caner before the age of 45 by 50%. If done before the age of 18, it increase 150%. All 12 women in the study with a family history of breast cancer, who aborted before the age of 18 – all 12 got breast cancer before 45.

J. Daling, Risk of Breast Cancer Among Young Women, J. Nat. Ca. Inst., Vol. 86, No. 21, 11/2/94. pg. 1584

EMOTION HEALTH

After years of legalized abortion experience, a pro-abortion professor of OB/GYN at the University of Newcastle-on-Tyne reported on his follow-up, ranging from two to twelve years, of 50 teenage mothers who had been aborted by him. He noted that the cervix of the young teenager, pregnant for the first time, is invariable small and tightly closed and especially liable to damage on dilatation. He reported on the rather dismalresults of their 53 subsequent pregnancies: Six had another induced abortion. Nineteen had spontaneous miscarriages. One delivered a stillborn baby at 6 months. Six babies died between birth and 2 years. Twenty-one babies survived.

J. Russell, Sexual Activity and Its Consequences in the Teenager, Clinics in OB, GYN, vol. 1, no. 3, Dec. 1974, pp. 683-698

While young women may lack a conscious understanding of the long-term outcomes of the abortion decision, the impact of that decision is real nonetheless. It can profoundly affect their cognitive development. Deutsch found lower levels of self esteem in adolescents who aborted, while a Canadian study of women, post-abortion, found that absence of affect (expression of emotion)especially of teenagers, was so marked as to be judged an adverse reaction in itself.

Womens Health After Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence, The deVeber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research, @2002 Elizabeth Ring Cassidy and Ian Gentkes. Deutsch MB. Personality Factors, Self Concept, and Family Variables Related to First Time and Repeat Abortion Seeking Behavior in Adolescent Women (Doctoral Dissertation).; The American University, 1982

Replacement pregnancies may follow adolescent abortion.

Adolescent Mourning Reactions to Infant and Fetal Loss, N.H. Horowitz, Social Casework 59:551, 1978 Dissociation was significantly related to reports by females of previously becoming pregnant and having an abortion is high school. Individuals who detach from reality by dissociation may disregard clues that may otherwise warn them of danger and become sitting ducks for later abuse.

Mediation of Abusive Childhood Experiences: Dissociation and Negative Life Outcomes, E. Becker-Lausen Am. J. Orthopyschiatry 65(4):560(1995)

A disproportionately high percentage of women who had abortions as adolescents have been found in J. Vought, Post-Abortion Trauma (1991)

31% of women with long term stress were 14-18 years of age at the time of their abortion. Among metropolitan teenagers age 15-19 whose first premarital pregnancy ended in abortion, 27% had a second premarital pregnancy within 12 months, 49.8% within 18 months and 74.9% within 24 months post-abortion.

Repeat Pregnancies Among Metropolitan Area Teenagers, 1971-1979, M.A. Koenig and M . Zelnik, Family Planning Perspectives 14 (6):341, Nov/Dec 1982

Half of teenage abortion patients studied suffered a worsening of psycho social functioning within 7 months after the abortion. Symptoms included: self reproach, depression, social regression, withdrawal, obsession with the need to become pregnant again, and hasty marriages.

Wallerstein, et. Al., Pyschosocial Sequelae of Therapeutic Abortion in Young U nmarried Women, Archives of General Psychiatry (1972) vol. 27

Among teenagers who aborted their first pregnancies, 66% subsequently experienced miscarriages or premature birth of the second, wanted pregnancies.

Russel, Sexual Activity and Its Consequences in the Teenager, Clinics in OB&GYN (Dec 1974), vol.1,no.3 683-698

CHILD ABUSE

A history of abortion is statistically associated with higher rates of child abuse. Post abortion trauma was a major cause of the dramatic rise in child abuse cases in the last 2 decades.

In many cases, these post abortive women choke back their love and are afraid to bond with their children. They fear that if they love their children "too much," they'll be punished by losing . But aren't these problems offset by the fact that abortion has reduced child abuse by reducing the number of unwanted children? This "fact" isn't a fact at all. Indeed, after decades of study, researchers haven't found a single shred of evidence to support the conclusion that abortion reduces the risk of child abuse. Instead, numerous studies have shown the opposite: a history of abortion is statistically associated with higher rates of child abuse.(1)

These findings are supported by clinical experience. A substantial number of women and men seeking post-abortion therapy have described a link between their unresolved post-abortion feelings and patterns of emotional or physical abuse of their subsequent children.

One woman described feelings of intense rage whenever her newborn baby cried: "I did not understand why her crying would make me so angry. She was the most beautiful baby, and had such a placid personality. What I didn't realize then was that I hated my daughter for being able to do all these things that my lost [aborted] baby would never be able to do."(2)

Are you saying abortion can cause child abuse? Yes. Difficulty bonding with subsequent children because of fear, shame, or guilt is commonly reported by post-abortion parents. Lack of adequate bonding is also one of the most significant risk factors for child abuse. When inadequate bonding is combined with feelings of anger and rage, which are common aftereffects of abortion, a dangerous mix can result. In some rare instances, abortion can also lead to complete emotional breakdown with tragic results. Renee Nicely of New Jersey experienced a "psychotic episode" the day after her abortion which resulted in the beating death of her three-year-old son, Shawn. She told the court psychiatrist that she "knew that abortion was wrong" and that she "should be punished for the abortion." Unfortunately, Shawn became the victim of her pain and guilt.(3) Sadly, in years to come it may be shown that post-abortion trauma was a major cause of the dramatic rise in child abuse cases in the last two decades.

Dr. Martha Shuping, M.D., is a psychiatrist with over ten years of experience in helping women with post-abortion issues.

Notes:

1. Ney, P., Fung, T., Wickett, A.R., "Relationship Between Induced Abortion and Child Abuse and Neglect: Four Studies," Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal 8(1):43-63 Fall 1993; Benedict, M., White, R., and Cornely, P., "Maternal Perinatal Risk Factors and Child Abuse" Child Abuse and Neglect 9:217-224 (1985); Lewis, E., "Two Hidden Predisposing Factors in Child Abuse," Child Abuse and Neglect 3:327-330 (1979); Ney, P., "Relationship Between Abortion and Child Abuse," Canadian J. Psychiatry 24: 610-620(1979).

2. See Reardon, Aborted Women, op cit., 130.

SUICIDE

Of 5,620 people counseled by Suiciders Anonymous in a 35 month period in the Cincinnati, Ohio area: 4,000 were women; 1,800 had abortions, of whom 1,400 were between 15-24 years old.

M Uchtman, Ohio Director of Suiciders Anonymous Report to the Cincinnati City Counsil, Sept. 1 1981

A teenage girl is 10 times more likely to attempt suicide if she has had an abortion in the last 6 months than is a comparable teenage girl who has not had an abortion.

Garfinkel, et al., Stress, Depression and Suicide: A Study of Adolescents in Minnesota, (Minneapolis; University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1986)

Adolescent attempted suicide on the perceived due date for their aborted child.

Adolescent Suicide Attempts Following elective Abortion, C Tischler, Pediatrics 68(5):670, 1981

A Canadian study of pain in women during first trimester abortion by suction curettage under local anesthesia found that severe acute pain similar to the pain of childbirth or from cancer can occur. Pain scores were significantly higher for younger patients aged 13-17 compared to older women. Severe acute depression or had moral or social concerns about abortion.

Pain of First Trimester Abortion: A study of Psychological and medical predictors, E. Belanger, R. Melzack, P. Lauzon, Pain 36: 339-350, 1989

Almost all adolescent subjects experienced the abortion procedure as frightening, dangerous, and punitive, and often as temporarily overwhelming.

Therapeutic Abortion During Adolescence: Psychiatric Observations, P. Barglow and S Weinstein, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 2(4): 331, 1973

Women who aborted as teenagers compared to women who aborted at 20 years of age or older, were less satisfied with services at the time of the abortion, were more likely to feel forced by circumstances to have the abortion, were more likely to report being misinformed, more often reported sever psychological distress, and more often wanted to give birth and keep the baby.

Differential Impact on Abortion on Adolescents and Adults, W. Franz and D. Reardon, Adolescence 105:162-172, 1992

In a study a 74 adolescent males in Ontario, Canada of their attitudes toward adolescent pregnancy and fatherhood, all males wished to be told if a pregnancy occurred, whether or not they were in a casual or serious dating relationship.

Attitudes of Adolescent Males Toward Pregnancy and Fatherhood, Marcia A. Redmond, Family Relations, Journal of Applied Family and Child Sturdies34 (3):337-341, July 1985

About 80% of pregnant adolescents in a young mothers program did not properly predict their mothers reaction to her pregnancy. The negative response they anticipated occurred but later resolved itself in acceptance.

The Adolescent and Pregnancy, M-A Corbett and J.H. Meyer, (Boston: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1987 (276-269)

Remember abortion is a decision you live with the rest of your life. Boyfriends may come and go yet your baby is your baby all of his/her life and yours. Abortion does NOT make you unpregnant. Abortion does NOT make your baby disappear. Abortion painfully kills your baby and makes you the mother of a dead baby. Abortion does NOT need to happen. You have a choice. You can raise your baby or make happy a couple that have been waiting to adopt a precious child. There is NO problem in your life that we are unable to overcome together and no problem ever solved by having an abortion. You are NOT alone. We love you both. We can do better than abortion and you deserve better than abortion.