(LifeSiteNews) — A new study from Canada that shows teen pregnancy is linked to higher rates of premature death should not be used to justify abortion, a pro-life scholar has said.
The new study in JAMA Network Open found “the risk of premature death was 1.5 times higher among those with one teen pregnancy and over two times higher for those with multiple teen pregnancies,” according to Professor Michael New’s analysis. “It also found that the risk of premature death was higher among younger Canadian teenagers who became pregnant.”
“Interestingly, the study purportedly finds that pregnant Canadian teens who obtained abortions had lower mortality rates than pregnant Canadian teens who carried pregnancies to term,” New wrote for National Review.
New, a researcher with the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a professor at Catholic University of America, said the results should not be used to argue that abortion is beneficial.
He explained:
First, teens who obtained abortions were still 40 percent more likely to die prematurely than teens who never became pregnant in the first place. Second, the study lumps together Canadian teens who had ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, and stillbirths with those who carried pregnancies to term. This potentially biases the results. Third, while the researchers held constant some socioeconomic variables, they did not consider the future income or socioeconomic status of pregnant Canadian teens. Pregnant teenagers who were professionally ambitious or planned on attending college might have been more likely to obtain abortions. Their potentially future higher incomes might explain their lower premature-death rates.
READ: France votes against life, enshrines abortion as a constitutional ‘freedom’
He also noted teen sexual activity is decreasing and promoting contraception is not the solution some claim it is. Abortion, in any case, can never be justified.
Abortion is the direct, intentional killing of a pre-born baby. It also is linked to numerous physical and psychological problems.
For example, one Charlotte Lozier Institute study found that, “compared to women who give birth, women who have an abortion in their first pregnancy are 3.4 times more likely to experience an increase in outpatient mental health visits and 5.7 times more likely to experience an increase in inpatient admissions.”
Women who abort their babies are “37 percent more likely to suffer from depression and 34 percent more likely to have anxiety, compared to women without abortions,” the think tank wrote, summarizing a 2011 study.
“There is no evidence to suggest that abortion ever directly benefits women’s mental health. In contrast, nearly every study has found that abortion is linked to more mental health problems in women, especially those who have one or more of the known risk factors,” the pro-life think tank wrote. “While nearly all psychological conditions are multifactorial, abortion can be a contributing factor in mental illness for some women, and numerous studies controlling for prior mental health issues have indicated that abortion is an independent risk factor for more mental health problems.”
Charlotte Lozier Institute also identified other consequences linked to abortion, including death, cervical damage, infection, and harm to organs.