Make an informed decision
To the Editor,
As a devoted Catholic and participant in the 40 Days for Life campaign in Peoria, I would like to share a letter I wrote back in June 2009 during this month of Respect Life.
I wrote this letter to the editor of Seventeen Magazine in regards to their article in the June 2009 issue titled “The Secret Life of Pregnant Teenagers.” I applaud them for their efforts in encouraging teenagers to not have sex in preventing unplanned pregnancies. It is important to let teenagers know that not only does not having sex protect them from getting pregnant, it also protects them from unwanted STDs.
I also wrote about some important facts about the uses of birth control pills. Sometimes birth control pills do not work. Sixty-eight percent of unplanned pregnancies are caused by incorrect use of birth control pills or when the pill is being taken with other medications such as antibiotics. The use of both the pill and a condom at the same time can lower this percentage of unplanned pregnancies, but it still cannot guarantee safe sex.
I also voiced my opinion about the “options” they suggested in the article. I personally would not recommend the option of abortion to any teenager or adult woman. Abortion is not completely safe. Teenagers are at a much higher risk of suffering many complications. The younger the patient and the longer the gestation period is, the higher the complication rate. Women under 17 have been found to face twice the normal risk of suffering cervical damage.
I also wrote about the complications. The types of complications can be physical, psychological and/or emotional. Many of which often go unreported or are hidden. Physical complications may include bladder injury, bowel injury or future breast cancer (women who have aborted have significantly higher rates of breast cancer later in life.) Hemorrhaging, hepatitis, laceration of the cervix, perforation of the uterus and severe infections from incomplete removal of the baby, placenta or umbilical cord can occur. Future and wanted pregnancies are also affected through Rh incompatibility, bleeding, sterility and miscarriages. Statistics show a 30 percent increased risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies after one abortion and 160 percent increased risk after two or more abortions. Some women experience immediate psychological problems while other repress feelings of remorse and guilt. Emotional complications include sadness, uncontrollable crying episodes, deterioration of self-worth, sleep, appetite and sexual disturbances. Reduced motivation, disrupted relationships, extreme guilt and anxiety, psychological “numbing” and depression can result and thoughts of suicide. In a five-year study, 25 percent of women who had abortions sought psychiatric care verses just 3 percent of women who had not had an abortion. Researchers also report an elevated rate of anxiety, depression and drug and alcohol use in post abortive teenagers and women.
Young women and teenage girls deserve to know the complete facts and the truth about the abortion option in order to make an informed decision at a very emotional time. I personally would not recommend having an abortion myself. Adoption is a loving option of keeping the baby with the love and support of family members and other resources.
Shawna Pratt
Princeton
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