1. Hannah O’Connor
HLP 492 Advocacy Project
December 2, 2015
Page 1 of 4
Advocacy Project
Over one million abortions are performed in the US each year. For the sake of public
health and the health of individual women, the facts about abortion’s harm to women demand
attention. (Paprocki, 2015 ). Because of the significant amount of abortions performed each year
there needs to be more scrutiny into the practice of abortions and the negative health
consequences abortions have on women.
The first issue of abortion is the reporting of complications and death due to abortions.
According to Thorp (2012), because this system is voluntary, and also due to the inherent
reluctance of surgeons to disclose serious complications such as death, underreporting is a major
problem. Because of this underreporting there is not sufficient data as to the safety of abortions.
In fact, there have been studies done stating otherwise. There is also a disparity between the
reporting of deaths due to pregnancy and deaths due to abortions. As Thorp (2012) also states,
“Unlike the identification and ascertainment of termination of pregnancy-related deaths
(abbreviated TOP) in the US, pregnancy-related deaths are systematically sought, identified, and
investigated by state maternal mortality commissions… TOP is a surgical procedure usually
completed in minutes, whereas childbirth encompasses the 40 weeks of pregnancy and 6 weeks
postpartum. Thus, TOP and its associated major complication, death, is like a single snapshot,
whereas pregnancy and pregnancy-related death are like a feature length film. Moreover, any
death during or 6 weeks after pregnancy is labeled pregnancy related and categorized as direct or
indirect. A woman who underwent TOP in the first trimester, suffered profound depression, and
four weeks later committed suicide would not be labeled a TOP-related death even if the TOP
was known about. Conversely, a woman delivering at term who had a similar series of events

2. Hannah O’Connor
HLP 492 Advocacy Project
December 2, 2015
Page 2 of 4
would be labeled a pregnancy-related death.” With that being said it would be very misleading to
compare pregnancy related deaths to abortion related death. The two are not comparable.
Another issue related to under reporting, is lives lost. According to Thorp (2012), In
terms of lives lost, current TOP epidemiologic approaches assume that the embryo or fetus has a
null moral status and that the loss of a potential human being (which is the stated goal of every
TOP procedure) should not be considered. This failure to account for the impact of losing a
future citizen has had profound demographic consequences in countries with unrestricted access
to TOP, such as the US. In a horrible twist reminiscent of the eugenics movements of the 20th
century, some US states have even lowered barriers to TOP with the stated intent of lowering the
number of individuals needing social support or mental health services. These losses are not
captured in mortality statistics that solely value the life of the mother.” Not only is this
underreported, this is not reported at all. This was a potential human being, a potential citizen of
the US whose life was terminated.
The final point of this issue is the underreporting of mental health issues due to abortions.
According to Paprocki (2015), It has been estimated that 10 percent of mental health problems
suffered by women are directly attributable to abortion. Not only that but Paprocki (2015) also
states, One of the leading studies, led by a pro-abortion researcher and controlling for all relevant
factors (including prior history of depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation), found that 27
percent of women who aborted reported experiencing suicidal ideation, with as many as 50
percent of minors experiencing suicide or suicidal ideation. The risk of suicide was three times
greater for women who aborted than for women who delivered. The study also found that 42

3. Hannah O’Connor
HLP 492 Advocacy Project
December 2, 2015
Page 3 of 4
percent of women who aborted reported major depression by age 25, and 39 percent of post-
abortive women suffered from anxiety disorders by age 25.”
Because of the lack of data we cannot come up with ways to solve these health issues that
women are facing. There are a variety of physical symptoms women can suffer after an abortion
which I did not elaborate on for time’s sake. My proposal is that we have to have policy
mandating the reporting of everything discussed earlier, deaths and complications due to
abortion, mental health issues in regards to abortion and lastly deaths of the fetus, the potential
citizens of our society. Once we have more data we can take strides in reducing the risks
associated with abortions.

4. Hannah O’Connor
HLP 492 Advocacy Project
December 2, 2015
Page 4 of 4
Paprocki, A. (2015). AUL Educates Americans on Abortion’s Harm To Women. Americans
United For Life, 29-37
Thorp, J., M., (2012). Public Health Impact of Legal Termination of Pregnancy in the US: 40
Years Later. Scientifica 2012, 1-16. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.6064/2012/980812