Researchers Who Deny Abortion/Depression Link Play Politics with Women’s Health Say “Silent No More” Leaders

December 5, 2008

Staten Island, NY – Leaders of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign (SNMAC), the world’s largest network of women and men harmed by abortion, today criticized a report by Johns Hopkins University researchers that claims there is no link between abortion and mental health issues. The report said efforts to show that psychological distress is higher among post-abortive women “appear to be politically motivated.”

“The Johns Hopkins University report’s allegation that studies proving the reality of post-abortion depression are politically motivated has to be the new definition of chutzpah,” said Janet Morana, co-founder of the SNMAC. “The Johns Hopkins study was led by a man, Dr. Robert Blum, who once chaired the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood’s research arm, the Alan Guttmacher Institute, and who has been used as an expert witness by the Center for Reproductive Rights. I wouldn’t exactly call this a report done by a disinterested, objective observer.”

“Three recent studies, from America, Australia, and New Zealand, documenting abortion’s increased risk of subsequent mental and emotional disorders were conveniently ignored by the Johns Hopkins study,” added Georgette Forney, another SNMAC co-founder. “As I and thousands of Silent No More women can testify, the ones playing politics with women’s lives are those who ignore the clear evidence of abortion’s impact on women in order to advance their own pro-abortion agenda.”

Since the launching of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign in 2003, 2,739 women and men have shared their testimonies publicly at over 325 gatherings in 44 states and seven countries where more than 41,000 spectators have heard the truth about abortion’s negative aftereffects. More than 6,100 people are registered to be Silent No More. Raising awareness about the hurtful aftermath of abortion and the help that is available to cope with the pain are two of the Campaign’s goals.

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a joint project of Anglicans for Life and Priests for Life. For more information, please visit our website: www.priestsforlife.org