Woohoo! Now I have even more reason to poke holes in the condoms!
But, seriously. There is this OBNOXIOUS ad that plays on local tv stations where I live in which an older woman voices over images of young girls playing sports, saying how "[she wishes] she knew about the risks and complications that resulted from my CHOICE" and bemoans her "physical and psychological complications" that came from her abortion. I've always been so insulted by that ad. It's like they are saying, "We can't make it illegal to have abortion here but we can sure as hell scare you with vague, ill-defined and likely not even medically-recognizable "complications" so that you are too afraid or ashamed to exercise your right to make that choice." Now, I have actual research to back up my feelings of annoyance over assertions like those. Abortion will not necessarily fuck you up for the rest of your life.
(Also of note, the organization that sponsored the ad also categorically asserts that elevated risk of breast cancer is directly correlated to abortions, which I thought had been shown to be a mostly specious claim?)
@Cerridwen: the researchers who endorse this correlation are fringe-scientists, who make these tabulations that are neither evaluated nor reviewed by independent bodies of research. Thus, they can conjure these magical relationships as they please.
@Cosette: Which is scary. And reminds me why, even though abortion is not legally restricted in my country, it's important to still advocate for reproductive rights and education.
@Cerridwen: I'd love to see an ad that pointed out that a woman is MUCH more likely to have 'complications' (including death) carrying a pregnancy to term than having an abortion.
I was my mother's second pregnancy, and she still had preeclampsia. She was on bedrest for most of her pregnancy and I was 6 weeks early. I wonder if one more would have made her preeclampsia free.
So that last sentence says it's basically the previous pregnancies and not the abortion which acts like a vaccine. It really makes your first sentence sound inflammatory. It should be clarified.
@Mafalda para Presidente: Self-clarification: according to the article it's going through labor that reduces the risk, so I'm guessing only abortions done by inducing labor (and not natural or other type of abortions) would have this effect.
@Mafalda para Presidente: Gah, I'd really like to read the original research article instead of some journalist's interpretation of it. It's always great to see the number of research subject and all the possible error margins.
Pre-eclampsia usually strikes after the 20th week. Most abortions occur long before that, so there is no way to predict if those women would have ended up with the condition if they'd continued the pregnancy. So I guess it is kind of like a vaccine, although I couldn't begin to guess how that works.
The greatest value in this finding may be its potential as armament against the tenuous/specious claims that abortions are causal/correlated to elevated breast cancer risk or alternate supposed reproductive health concerns.
To hear individuals spew distortions as fact - interpretations of essentially non-existent scientific data to rationalize their personal views on abortion - is beyond cringe-worthy. To some, undergoing an abortion is tantamount to inviting a lifetime of health issues upon oneself - perhaps as penance, as interpreted by anti-choice individuals.
@Cosette: See my post below re: anti-choice organizations that realize they cannot outlaw abortion but think they can scare women into not having them with distorted, vague, specious and sometimes even false health claims. These people drive me nuts.
@cupscake: Can I ask if everything turned out ok? I've convinced myself I have it now because my wedding ring doesn't fit and I finally got on a scale (big mistake), and I'm starting to panic. I have an appointment Thursday but between now and then I'll be a wreck.
See, this just makes me want to get knocked up and go abort it. Because too many episodes of "Deliver Me" on Discover Health have made me paranoid about preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, even though I'm not at all pregnant.
How can this be true? Soaps have taught me that abortions equal mysterious "complications" that break your babymaker, not make it easier in the future!
Well, there's a good comeback when an anti-abortion zealot starts babbling about abortions causing breast cancer and who knows what else. An actual MEDICAL STUDY showing it has benefits.
I doubt many women will get abortions just for this, but still, kind of an interesting fact. Is the same true for miscarriages? I'm guessing so.
Oh, yesterday, I was driving home and saw a "Mommy Let Me Live!" bumper sticker. I managed to avoid rear-ending it. Or maybe it was "Mommy Don't Kill Me!" It was something disgusting.
In college, I had an apartment near a billboard that said "It's a child, not a choice."
I've always thought it would be ironic if a car with "Choose Life" plates ran over a pedestrian or something. I'd like to go all Onion and say "Pro-Lifer Chooses Death For Granny."
11/17/08
But, seriously. There is this OBNOXIOUS ad that plays on local tv stations where I live in which an older woman voices over images of young girls playing sports, saying how "[she wishes] she knew about the risks and complications that resulted from my CHOICE" and bemoans her "physical and psychological complications" that came from her abortion. I've always been so insulted by that ad. It's like they are saying, "We can't make it illegal to have abortion here but we can sure as hell scare you with vague, ill-defined and likely not even medically-recognizable "complications" so that you are too afraid or ashamed to exercise your right to make that choice." Now, I have actual research to back up my feelings of annoyance over assertions like those. Abortion will not necessarily fuck you up for the rest of your life.
(Also of note, the organization that sponsored the ad also categorically asserts that elevated risk of breast cancer is directly correlated to abortions, which I thought had been shown to be a mostly specious claim?)
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
To hear individuals spew distortions as fact - interpretations of essentially non-existent scientific data to rationalize their personal views on abortion - is beyond cringe-worthy. To some, undergoing an abortion is tantamount to inviting a lifetime of health issues upon oneself - perhaps as penance, as interpreted by anti-choice individuals.
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
I knew I'd be proved right some day.
11/17/08
11/17/08
11/17/08
Oh, yesterday, I was driving home and saw a "Mommy Let Me Live!" bumper sticker. I managed to avoid rear-ending it. Or maybe it was "Mommy Don't Kill Me!" It was something disgusting.
11/17/08
I would have been sorely tempted to key that car.
11/17/08
11/17/08
In college, I had an apartment near a billboard that said "It's a child, not a choice."
I've always thought it would be ironic if a car with "Choose Life" plates ran over a pedestrian or something. I'd like to go all Onion and say "Pro-Lifer Chooses Death For Granny."
11/17/08
11/17/08
Based on this study, can we please put up a billboard somewhere saying "Abortion Means Healthy Pregnancies!"
11/17/08
Om nom nom. I'll be enjoying my daily fetus much more tomorrow!
11/17/08