NEW research that shows young women who undergo abortions suffer from depression is already a well known fact, a leading Queensland pro-life doctor said.
Queensland secretary of the World Federation of Doctors Who Respect Human Life, Dr David van Gend, said the research was merely formalising what was already known about the harmful psychological effects of abortion.
Dr van Gend said the findings were self-evident to those who work as general practitioners.
The New Zealand study of 500 women, including 14.6 per cent who had terminated a pregnancy, found elevated rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviour and substance abuse among those who had undergone an abortion.
“The claim that abortion is done to protect women’s mental health is hard to sustain when we are only just coming to grips with severity of the effects of abortions on mental health,” Dr van Gend said.
The study, led by psychologist and epidemiologist David Fergusson at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, was published earlier this month in the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology.
And with debate about the use of the abortion drug RU486 continuing in Australia and further hearings by a Senate committee to take place from next month, Queensland Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce believes the results of this report simply highlight further the need to avoid abortion.
The Senate inquiry resumes on February 3.
