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Abortion: How Much Do You Know? (Question 11)

How safe is abortion?

If you have been told that abortion is a “safe and legal” procedure, please keep reading. Many problems can occur either during or after a legal abortion. Most people are unaware of the many dangers associated with abortion.

Ten percent of women undergoing elective abortion will suffer immediate complications, of which one-fifth are considered life-threatening. The most common complications that can occur at the time of an abortion are: ripping or perforation of the uterus, excessive bleeding, infection, embolism, convulsions, hemorrhage, cervical injury, endotoxic shock, fever, second degree burns, vomiting, and chronic abdominal pain. You can learn more by reading “Physical Health Risks of Abortion: Scientific Studies Reveal Significant Risk,” from the Elliot Institute.

Complications in future pregnancies, such as excessive bleeding, premature delivery, cervical damage and sterility are risks of abortion (see Acta/Obstetrics and Gynecology Scandinavia, Vol. 58, 1979, pp. 491-494).

The risk of placenta previa, which produces extremely severe, life-threatening bleeding during future pregnancies, is increased by 600 percent after an abortion (see American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol. 141, 1981, pp. 769-772).

The risk of having a tubal (ectopic) pregnancy increases by 30 percent after one abortion and 12 percent of all maternal deaths are due to ectopic pregnancies (see American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 72, 1982, pp. 253-256, and “Annual Ectopic Totals Rose Steadily in 1970s-But Mortality Fell,” in Family Planning Perspectives, 1983, Vol. 15, p. 85).

This has not been a complete listing of the possible complications to abortion. However, as you can see, labeling the abortion procedure as “safe” is not accurate. According to a partial list of death certificates, autopsies, medical examiner reports, secular newspaper accounts, and/or independent medical journals compiled by Life Dynamics, there have been more than 242 deaths from legal abortion in the United States, according to Life Dynamics of Denton, Texas.