Abortion-Drug Abuse Link, Study Claims
by AFA Journal
September 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - Abortions and drug abuse once again have been linked, according to a study co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and reported by Christian Wire Service. Drug abuse is three times more common during a subsequent pregnancy among women who have had abortions in the past than among those who have never ended a pregnancy. However, there is no evidence of the trend among women who experienced miscarriages or stillbirths.
Research suggests that subsequent pregnancies may cause women to experience unresolved grief about past abortions. To mask such feelings, these women depend on drugs.
"Whatever the individual experience," said Dr. David Reardon, "it is clear that pregnant women with a history of abortion are at a greater risk of trying to suppress their turbulent emotions by relying on more alcohol, cigarettes or illegal drugs." Reardon, director of the Elliot Institute, helped collect data along with researchers from Bowling State University and the University of Texas.
The findings of the study paralleled those of 21 other studies that connect abortions to an increased rate of substance abuse.
This article appeared in the September 2005 issue of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.
