Abortion Impact Stronger than Miscarriage, Study Finds

OSLO, May 5, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study has confirmed that the long-term emotional ramifications of induced abortion are greater than that for spontaneous miscarriage.  The research, conducted by scientists in Norway, and reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, measured the emotional impact of abortion and miscarriage by a psychological measure known as the Impact of Event Scale, or IES. The IES measures the degree to which someone avoids thinking about an event, as well as how frequently thoughts of an event “intrude,” or become conscious—both are indications of how strongly a trauma has impacted a person emotionally.  The study measured the impact of abortion and miscarriage after ten days, six months, and two years. Although the initial grief and loss was greater for women experiencing a miscarriage at the initial ten-day measurement, abortion’s emotional effect was much greater long-term. After two years, 17 percent of women who had suffered an abortion scored a high IES, in other words, strongly avoided thinking about the abortion, and had numerous “intruding” thoughts of the abortion, v. only three percent of women who had experienced a miscarriage.  The research team also noted that the stronger the feelings of shame or loss at the initial measurement time, the more likely the woman was to experience avoidance or intrusion at the later dates.  Read a summary of the findings on-line at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15039513   Also see the full journal article on-line (requires subscription or one-time fee): https://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/content/full/66/2/265