KATU 2 - Portland, Oregon
ATLANTA - More American women are having babies they didn't want, a survey indicates, but federal researchers say they don't know if that means attitudes about abortion are changing.
U.S. women of childbearing age who were surveyed in 2002 revealed that 14 percent of their recent births were unwanted at the time of conception, federal researchers said Monday. In a similar 1995 survey, only 9 percent were unwanted at the time of conception.
At least one anti-abortion group said the numbers reflect a national "pro-life shift," while others who research reproductive health issues suggested it might mean less access to abortion.
The latest findings are consistent with the falling rate of abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a New York-based nonprofit group that researches reproductive health issues.
In 1995, for every 100 births that ended in abortion or a birth, almost 26 ended in abortion. In 2002, 24 ended in abortion, according to Guttmacher data. That information seems to be in sync with the federal data released Monday, said Lawrence Finer, Guttmacher's associate director for domestic research.
"The two statistics together suggest - but don't confirm - that a greater percentage of unintended pregnancies resulted in births rather than abortions," Finer said.
The Guttmacher Institute is nearly finished with a study of that question, but Finer declined to discuss the results before they've been published.
Others feel the link is clear-cut.
"I don't think there's any mystery here," said Susan Wills, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The new data underscores that more women are turning away from abortions, even when it's a pregnancy they don't initially want, said Wills, associate director for education in the Conference's Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities.
"It shows a real pro-life shift," she said.
More women may be carrying pregnancies to term because of increasing availability of ultrasounds and other information that show "it's a baby from an early time," Wills said.
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Thursday, December 29, 2005
Monday, December 26, 2005
Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health
J Child Psychol & Psychiat, Vol 47, 2006
Results: Forty-one percent of women had become pregnant on at least one occasion prior to age 25, with 14.6% having an abortion. Those having an abortion had elevated rates of subsequent mental health problems including depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviours and substance use disorders. This association persisted after adjustment for confounding factors.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that abortion in young women may be associated with increased risks of mental health problems.
Results: Forty-one percent of women had become pregnant on at least one occasion prior to age 25, with 14.6% having an abortion. Those having an abortion had elevated rates of subsequent mental health problems including depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviours and substance use disorders. This association persisted after adjustment for confounding factors.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that abortion in young women may be associated with increased risks of mental health problems.
Why Abortion Rates Vary: A Geographical Examination of the Supply of and Demand for Abortion Services in the United States in 1988
Ann Assoc Am Geog, Vol 84
The role of states as arbiters of abortion has waxed and waned throughout American history. This paper examines the relative roles of state-imposed regulations on supply conditions and demographic demand factors in the explanation of geographic variation in state abortion rates. Path analysis reveals that supply conditions affect state abortion rates, even after the effects of demand conditions are considered. Moreover, the model shows that supply factors serve as mediators for several key demand variables. A state's population composition influences the level of public funding of abortions for poor women and the political culture's tolerance of abortion. These, in conjunction with the metropolitan nature of a state's population, directly influence the rate of abortion. Results of this analysis imply that the trend toward highly variable state restrictions on abortion in the form of parental consent, mandatory counseling, and waiting periods will lead to larger differences in state abortion rates.
The role of states as arbiters of abortion has waxed and waned throughout American history. This paper examines the relative roles of state-imposed regulations on supply conditions and demographic demand factors in the explanation of geographic variation in state abortion rates. Path analysis reveals that supply conditions affect state abortion rates, even after the effects of demand conditions are considered. Moreover, the model shows that supply factors serve as mediators for several key demand variables. A state's population composition influences the level of public funding of abortions for poor women and the political culture's tolerance of abortion. These, in conjunction with the metropolitan nature of a state's population, directly influence the rate of abortion. Results of this analysis imply that the trend toward highly variable state restrictions on abortion in the form of parental consent, mandatory counseling, and waiting periods will lead to larger differences in state abortion rates.
Young women's experiences of arranging and having abortions
Sociol Health & Illness
Angela Harden & Jane Ogden
Women (n = 54) aged between 16 and 24 were interviewed between one and three hours after their abortion about their experiences. Overall, having an unwanted pregnancy was experienced as a rare event which was accompanied by feelings of lack of control and loss of status. Further, the process of arranging and having an abortion led to a reinstatement of status, control and normality. However, this process was sometimes hindered by inaccessible information, judgmental health professionals and the wider social context of abortion in which abortion is seen as a generally negative experience. In the main though, most of these negative experiences were associated with accessing the abortion service and the professionals who act as gatekeepers to the service rather than those who work within the service itself. Therefore, although young women's experiences were wide-ranging and varied, most were positive, and at times even negative expectations were compensated by supportive staff, indicating that abortion services may not be as judgmental in the late 20th century as suggested in previous decades.
Angela Harden & Jane Ogden
Women (n = 54) aged between 16 and 24 were interviewed between one and three hours after their abortion about their experiences. Overall, having an unwanted pregnancy was experienced as a rare event which was accompanied by feelings of lack of control and loss of status. Further, the process of arranging and having an abortion led to a reinstatement of status, control and normality. However, this process was sometimes hindered by inaccessible information, judgmental health professionals and the wider social context of abortion in which abortion is seen as a generally negative experience. In the main though, most of these negative experiences were associated with accessing the abortion service and the professionals who act as gatekeepers to the service rather than those who work within the service itself. Therefore, although young women's experiences were wide-ranging and varied, most were positive, and at times even negative expectations were compensated by supportive staff, indicating that abortion services may not be as judgmental in the late 20th century as suggested in previous decades.
PREDICTING STATE ABORTION LEGISLATION FROM U.S. SENATE VOTES: THE EFFECTS OF APPARENT IDEOLOGICAL SHIRKING
Rev Policy Res, Vol 9
The recent Supreme Court decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services giving more discretion to states to regulate abortion has led to speculation concerning which states might move to limit abortions. Medoff (1989) attempts to predict how state legislatures might vote on state-level abortion legislation by examining the 1983 Senate vote on the Hatch/Eagleton Amendment. We expand upon Medoff's analysis by incor- porating recent developments in agency theory as it applies to the political agents (i.e., Senators) in the empirical model. The results demonstrate that accounting for Senatorial "shirking" and state ideology substantially im- proves the predictive ability of the model for the Senate abortion vote. The predicted votes of the state's Senators, after eliminating the effects of apparent Senatorial shirking, are used to infer the likelihood of state-level legislation substantially restricting abortion. We compare these results to a base model that ignores the issue of shirking and find increased predict- ability and several differing results.
The recent Supreme Court decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services giving more discretion to states to regulate abortion has led to speculation concerning which states might move to limit abortions. Medoff (1989) attempts to predict how state legislatures might vote on state-level abortion legislation by examining the 1983 Senate vote on the Hatch/Eagleton Amendment. We expand upon Medoff's analysis by incor- porating recent developments in agency theory as it applies to the political agents (i.e., Senators) in the empirical model. The results demonstrate that accounting for Senatorial "shirking" and state ideology substantially im- proves the predictive ability of the model for the Senate abortion vote. The predicted votes of the state's Senators, after eliminating the effects of apparent Senatorial shirking, are used to infer the likelihood of state-level legislation substantially restricting abortion. We compare these results to a base model that ignores the issue of shirking and find increased predict- ability and several differing results.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Family-centered preventive intervention science: toward benefits to larger populations of children, youth, and families
Entrez PubMed
The field of family-centered preventive intervention science is well poised to seize an opportunity for larger-scale intervention implementation and greater public health impact. This opportunity has been created by earlier research in the areas of epidemiology, developmental etiology, and intervention outcome research. Both earlier and current research define a number of key tasks required to meet the many challenges involved in scaling-up for greater impact. Illustrations of how these tasks can be addressed are provided in articles on programs of family-centered research with infants, children, and adolescents. Each article in this special issue treats one or more tasks that concern (a) expansion of the set of rigorously evaluated, theory-driven interventions that have potential to reach large numbers of children, youth, and families; (b) effective strategies for family recruitment and retention; (c) cultural sensitivity of interventions; (d) application of a developmental life course perspective; (e) strategies for linking higher-risk population subgroups with potentially beneficial services; (f) improved diffusion mechanisms for sustained, quality delivery; and (g) policy making informed by research, including economic analysis. A summary of how articles address these tasks concludes with a discussion of the importance of futher strengthening a public service orientation in prevention science.
The field of family-centered preventive intervention science is well poised to seize an opportunity for larger-scale intervention implementation and greater public health impact. This opportunity has been created by earlier research in the areas of epidemiology, developmental etiology, and intervention outcome research. Both earlier and current research define a number of key tasks required to meet the many challenges involved in scaling-up for greater impact. Illustrations of how these tasks can be addressed are provided in articles on programs of family-centered research with infants, children, and adolescents. Each article in this special issue treats one or more tasks that concern (a) expansion of the set of rigorously evaluated, theory-driven interventions that have potential to reach large numbers of children, youth, and families; (b) effective strategies for family recruitment and retention; (c) cultural sensitivity of interventions; (d) application of a developmental life course perspective; (e) strategies for linking higher-risk population subgroups with potentially beneficial services; (f) improved diffusion mechanisms for sustained, quality delivery; and (g) policy making informed by research, including economic analysis. A summary of how articles address these tasks concludes with a discussion of the importance of futher strengthening a public service orientation in prevention science.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Hillary Clinton says GOP deficit bill will increase abortions
wcax
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton wades back into the highly charged abortion debate. She charged yesterday that a G-O-P cost-cutting measure will boost the number of abortions in the United States.
Clinton said a piece of a pending deficit-reduction measure would indirectly raise the number of abortions by leaving poor women with less Medicaid coverage for contraception.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton wades back into the highly charged abortion debate. She charged yesterday that a G-O-P cost-cutting measure will boost the number of abortions in the United States.
Clinton said a piece of a pending deficit-reduction measure would indirectly raise the number of abortions by leaving poor women with less Medicaid coverage for contraception.
Abortion Battles Without Much Effect On Abortions
theatlantic.com
You might think that something huge was at stake from the sound and fury accompanying the November 30 Supreme Court argument about New Hampshire's restrictions on minors' access to abortion, and the pending challenge to the 2003 act of Congress banning "partial-birth" abortion.
Abortion-rights advocates warn that any decision upholding restrictions on abortion in either case would jeopardize women's health and set the stage for evisceration of Roe v. Wade. Anti-abortion advocates portray the lower-court decisions striking down these laws before they took effect as steps toward the destruction of the American family and the legalization of infanticide.
...
Stuart Taylor Jr. is a senior writer and columnist for National Journal and a contributing editor at Newsweek. This column appears every week in National Journal, a weekly magazine covering politics and government published in Washington, D.C.
You might think that something huge was at stake from the sound and fury accompanying the November 30 Supreme Court argument about New Hampshire's restrictions on minors' access to abortion, and the pending challenge to the 2003 act of Congress banning "partial-birth" abortion.
Abortion-rights advocates warn that any decision upholding restrictions on abortion in either case would jeopardize women's health and set the stage for evisceration of Roe v. Wade. Anti-abortion advocates portray the lower-court decisions striking down these laws before they took effect as steps toward the destruction of the American family and the legalization of infanticide.
...
Stuart Taylor Jr. is a senior writer and columnist for National Journal and a contributing editor at Newsweek. This column appears every week in National Journal, a weekly magazine covering politics and government published in Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues in the States: Major Trends in 2005
www.guttmacher.org
State legislatures paid particular attention to sexual and reproductive health policy issues in 2005. A total of 98 new laws were enacted, just over half of which are aimed at restricting access to abortion while a quarter seek to expand access to contraception. Moreover, of the 195 abortion restrictions adopted in the six legislative years beginning in 2000, fully one-quarter were enacted in 2005 alone. Similarly, of the 83 measures enacted since 2000 to promote contraceptive access, one-quarter were adopted last year.
...
State legislatures paid particular attention to sexual and reproductive health policy issues in 2005. A total of 98 new laws were enacted, just over half of which are aimed at restricting access to abortion while a quarter seek to expand access to contraception. Moreover, of the 195 abortion restrictions adopted in the six legislative years beginning in 2000, fully one-quarter were enacted in 2005 alone. Similarly, of the 83 measures enacted since 2000 to promote contraceptive access, one-quarter were adopted last year.
...
New Hampshire's never-enforced abortion law to go before justices
Winston-Salem Journal
To some, a never-enforced New Hampshire law requiring parental notification before a minor has an abortion is a backward step for women's rights. To others, it protects parents' rights to know whether their child is having an abortion.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider those arguments Wed-nesday as it begins to weigh whe-ther to reinstate a law that requires parental notification 48 hours before an abortion can be performed on a person younger than 18.
...
Nearly all states have laws requiring some kind of parental involvement when minors have abortions. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonpro-fit group that researches reproductive-health issues, 21 states require parental consent and 13 require parental notification. Nine other states, including New Hampshire, have laws that aren't in effect because they have been blocked by court orders.
To some, a never-enforced New Hampshire law requiring parental notification before a minor has an abortion is a backward step for women's rights. To others, it protects parents' rights to know whether their child is having an abortion.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider those arguments Wed-nesday as it begins to weigh whe-ther to reinstate a law that requires parental notification 48 hours before an abortion can be performed on a person younger than 18.
...
Nearly all states have laws requiring some kind of parental involvement when minors have abortions. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonpro-fit group that researches reproductive-health issues, 21 states require parental consent and 13 require parental notification. Nine other states, including New Hampshire, have laws that aren't in effect because they have been blocked by court orders.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Culture war puts crack in EU
Kansas City Star
BRUSSELS, Belgium — When Polish members of the European Parliament placed an anti-abortion display in a parliamentary corridor in Strasbourg, France, Ana Gomes, a Socialist legislator from Portugal, felt compelled to act. The display showed children in a concentration camp, linking abortion and Nazi crimes. A loud scuffle ensued as she and the Poles traded insults before guards bundled the display away.
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BRUSSELS, Belgium — When Polish members of the European Parliament placed an anti-abortion display in a parliamentary corridor in Strasbourg, France, Ana Gomes, a Socialist legislator from Portugal, felt compelled to act. The display showed children in a concentration camp, linking abortion and Nazi crimes. A loud scuffle ensued as she and the Poles traded insults before guards bundled the display away.
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