There are two studies which I see frequently cited to prove that claim. It is untrue--abortion is not safer than childbirth.
The first is Christiansen & Collins, 2006. The abstract can be read here. The claim is that the study found the death rate of childbirth to be ten times higher than undergoing an abortion. But the study itself has no data on abortion-related deaths. It merely compares rate of death when the woman became pregnant versus the rate of death among life childbirths, but that does not mean those who did not undergo live childbirth had an abortion. Some of them may have had abortions, but not all, and probably not even a majority, actually went to get an abortion. The study defined pregnancy-related death--which was their "abortion" group--as, "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death." (p. 11) So... They didn't even compare women who had abortions to women who hadn't! So citing that study as proof that abortions are safer than childbirth is simply untrue.
The second is a newer study by Raymond & Grimes, 2012. A summary of the study is here. The summary stated that "[t]he risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than that with abortion." So have I lost? Not exactly. The study was disputed by Priscilla K. Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University. The Raymond study relied upon data provided by the CDC, but Coleman argues that the CDC underestimates abortion-related deaths for multiple reasons, "1) abortion reporting is not required by federal law and many states do not report abortion-related deaths to the CDC; 2) deaths due to medical and surgical treatments are reported under the complication of the procedure (e.g., infection) rather than the treatment (e.g., induced abortion); 3) most women leave abortion clinics within hours of the procedure and go to hospital emergency rooms if there are complications that may result in death; 4) suicide deaths are rarely, if ever, linked back to abortion in state reporting of death rates; 5) an abortion experience can lead to physical and/or psychological disturbances that increase the likelihood of dying years after the abortion and these indirect abortion-related deaths are not captured at all. The authors acknowledge underreporting, but they make no attempt to address the factors associated with this shortcoming, nor do they discuss the magnitude of the problem." The reliance on the CDC data, therefore, is unable to provide an accurate representation of the truth. The study is flawed at its core due to underreporting of abortion related deaths, which may close the gap or even reverse the findings if accounted for. Coleman also notes how the Raymond study does *not* measure abortion-related deaths after the first trimester. Second and third term abortions are rare, but it is those which likely produce the largest chance of complication. It should be noted that Raymond found the chance of death during childbirth was 8.8/100,000, but the mortality rate at 13-15 weeks of gestation during an abortion is 14.7/100,000 and 29.5/100,000 at 16-20 weeks. The rate jumps to 76.6/100,000 after 21 weeks. So an abortion at 13-15 weeks is 1.6 times more deadly than childbirth, 3.3 times more deadly at 16-20 weeks, and 8 times more deadly after 21 weeks. So it is much less safe to have an abortion after the first trimester, and the data for the first trimester may be very flawed.
As Coleman noted, the study does not take into account future deaths which may have been caused by abortion (possibly suicide). Coleman argues that there is a huge amount of data showing how childbirth prevents breast cancer and suicide. Thus, depraving childbirth from women may benefit them in the long term and outweigh the short-term finding Raymond and Grimes found. Other studies have not Reached the Raymond conclusion. One study found that abortion was four times as deadly as childbirth, and increased the risk of suicide. Another study found that abortions cause Ectopic pregnancies. Ectopic pregnancies are responsible for 10% of pregnancy-related deaths in the first trimester. 12 studies in India have shown that abortions increase the risk of breast cancer. In the US, 19/24 studies prove the abortion breast cancer link. I would not go so far to say that the cancer link is proven--many researchers are skeptical, but some evidence does seem to exist.
The first is Christiansen & Collins, 2006. The abstract can be read here. The claim is that the study found the death rate of childbirth to be ten times higher than undergoing an abortion. But the study itself has no data on abortion-related deaths. It merely compares rate of death when the woman became pregnant versus the rate of death among life childbirths, but that does not mean those who did not undergo live childbirth had an abortion. Some of them may have had abortions, but not all, and probably not even a majority, actually went to get an abortion. The study defined pregnancy-related death--which was their "abortion" group--as, "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death." (p. 11) So... They didn't even compare women who had abortions to women who hadn't! So citing that study as proof that abortions are safer than childbirth is simply untrue.
The second is a newer study by Raymond & Grimes, 2012. A summary of the study is here. The summary stated that "[t]he risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than that with abortion." So have I lost? Not exactly. The study was disputed by Priscilla K. Coleman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University. The Raymond study relied upon data provided by the CDC, but Coleman argues that the CDC underestimates abortion-related deaths for multiple reasons, "1) abortion reporting is not required by federal law and many states do not report abortion-related deaths to the CDC; 2) deaths due to medical and surgical treatments are reported under the complication of the procedure (e.g., infection) rather than the treatment (e.g., induced abortion); 3) most women leave abortion clinics within hours of the procedure and go to hospital emergency rooms if there are complications that may result in death; 4) suicide deaths are rarely, if ever, linked back to abortion in state reporting of death rates; 5) an abortion experience can lead to physical and/or psychological disturbances that increase the likelihood of dying years after the abortion and these indirect abortion-related deaths are not captured at all. The authors acknowledge underreporting, but they make no attempt to address the factors associated with this shortcoming, nor do they discuss the magnitude of the problem." The reliance on the CDC data, therefore, is unable to provide an accurate representation of the truth. The study is flawed at its core due to underreporting of abortion related deaths, which may close the gap or even reverse the findings if accounted for. Coleman also notes how the Raymond study does *not* measure abortion-related deaths after the first trimester. Second and third term abortions are rare, but it is those which likely produce the largest chance of complication. It should be noted that Raymond found the chance of death during childbirth was 8.8/100,000, but the mortality rate at 13-15 weeks of gestation during an abortion is 14.7/100,000 and 29.5/100,000 at 16-20 weeks. The rate jumps to 76.6/100,000 after 21 weeks. So an abortion at 13-15 weeks is 1.6 times more deadly than childbirth, 3.3 times more deadly at 16-20 weeks, and 8 times more deadly after 21 weeks. So it is much less safe to have an abortion after the first trimester, and the data for the first trimester may be very flawed.
As Coleman noted, the study does not take into account future deaths which may have been caused by abortion (possibly suicide). Coleman argues that there is a huge amount of data showing how childbirth prevents breast cancer and suicide. Thus, depraving childbirth from women may benefit them in the long term and outweigh the short-term finding Raymond and Grimes found. Other studies have not Reached the Raymond conclusion. One study found that abortion was four times as deadly as childbirth, and increased the risk of suicide. Another study found that abortions cause Ectopic pregnancies. Ectopic pregnancies are responsible for 10% of pregnancy-related deaths in the first trimester. 12 studies in India have shown that abortions increase the risk of breast cancer. In the US, 19/24 studies prove the abortion breast cancer link. I would not go so far to say that the cancer link is proven--many researchers are skeptical, but some evidence does seem to exist.
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