Dave Andrusko at NRLC speaks to one of the researchers interviewed by Emily Bazelon, the author of the piece on post-abortion syndrome.

I recently spoke with Dr. Priscilla Coleman who was interviewed by Ms Bazelon and briefly mentioned in the article. Dr. Coleman was disturbed by what she considers "out-right misrepresentation of the science by a reporter who was given the evidence and clearly understood it." 

Bazelon writes: "The idea that abortion is at the root of women’s psychological ills is not supported by the bulk of the research." She offers this conclusion, early in her lengthy essay, after having received from Dr. Coleman an overview of the more than a dozen studies published just since 2002 by the Bowling Green State University Researcher and her colleagues suggesting otherwise.

Dr. Coleman said these studies address many of the methodological problems that plagued earlier research. This newer wave of research has strengths that more definitely pinpoint abortion as the culprit in many women’s mental health problems.

Dr. Coleman noted that Bazelon also failed to mention a recent study by David Fergusson. He and his colleagues found strong associations between abortion and anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicide ideation. As a self-described "pro-choice" researcher, Fergusson’s results have sent shockwaves.

Had Bazelon shared his results with her readers, she could not have so easily shrugged off the vast literature in highly respected academic journals, dismissing them as the workings of biased pro-life researchers with a political agenda.

In addition to ignoring the studies that clearly indicate abortion poses serious risks to women, Bazelon uses the now familiar strategy of focusing on older, small scale, scientifically flawed studies.