A recent study published in the prestigious British Medical Journal(Dec. 7, 1996, pp. 1431-34) reports that the suicide rate after pregnancy in Finland from 1987 to 1994 was 6.4 times greater in women who had undergone induced abortions (34.7 per 100,000) than for those who had given birth (5.4 per 100,000).
Additionally, the suicide rate for women who had given birth was one-half the rate of the general population of Finland (11.3 per 100,000).
Clearly, induced abortion in Finland poses serious and sometimes fatal risks to the mental health of the women who undergo this procedure, while women who give birth to their children are psychologically strengthened for motherhood.
William Hogan M.D., President
St. Luke's Physicians'Guild
Washington Metropolitan Area