A British Medical Journal online article claims that pregnancy is more likely to cause depression than abortion, a position which is and will continue to be disputed by the many organisations who work in post-abortion counselling.

Citra Abbott, speaking on behalf of the ?Alive & Kicking' Campaign, an alliance recently formed to bring about reduction in the number of abortions taking place in the UK, made the following comments:

?Arguments are regularly put forward from both sides of this debate but the evidence of the psychological consequences of abortion remains for us the most compelling. And from our pro-life perspective there will always be something deeply disturbing about anybody trying to prove that pregnancy, rather than termination, is more likely to lead to depression. The close association of Nancy Russo, one of the authors of today's research, with the ProChoice Forum, has not gone unnoticed.

?The reality is, however, that we do not wish to see depression associated with any aspect of a woman's child-bearing capacity. Part of our current campaign against abortion is to try and ensure that financial, educational and general social inequalities are addressed positively so that women are never discriminated against when they find themselves pregnant. This has to be a better solution than simply offering to terminate the life of their child and leave women in the same position as before.

?As recent ?Alive & Kicking' opinion polls (*) have shown, both Parliament and the public is concerned about abortion in the UK, with 81% of the public agreeing that 200,000 abortions a year is too high and that ways should be found of reducing the number. And interestingly major support came from women.

?It is the right time to conduct proper inquiry into the practice of abortion, with all peripheral aspects taken into account as well. Principally we need to know why there are so many abortions and what measures are being taken to address the issues which lead women to this decision.

?It is time for full Parliamentary inquiry into abortion and rigorous review of the Abortion Act.'

*CommunicateResearch interviewed a representative sample of 1005 GB adults between 21st and 23rd October 2005. The Parliamentary poll was conducted between 7th and 24th June 2005 with a representative sample of 154 MPs. CommunicateResearch is a member of the British Polling Council and adheres to its rules (britishpollingcouncil.org).

Full tables of both public and Parliamentary polls at communicateresearch.com.

Alive and Kicking Campaign
aliveandkickingcampaign.org