By his own admission, abortionist Lawrence W. Scott has committed “thousands and thousands” of abortions. In an interview with a pro-abortion author, he made the claim that “Women at the age of around 35 who have never been pregnant have a harder time getting pregnant than women who have been pregnant before and had an abortion.”1 Shockingly, Scott claims that by getting pregnant and having abortions, women improve their chances of having children in the future.
Women are not like cars
He uses a car metaphor to explain what he means: a person who buys a Rolls-Royce automobile and lets it sit in a garage for five years compared to someone who buys a similar car and drives it every day. The car that sits in the garage, Scott claims, won’t run as well as the car that is driven. In a similar way, Scott believes a woman’s reproductive organs suffer from “disuse atrophy” and will fail to function if she never becomes pregnant.
According to Scott, “Contrary to how most people think, an aborted pregnancy can help preserve fertility and perhaps keep you from developing certain physical problems later in life.”2 He admits “I would have lost my license for making statements like this 10 years ago, but I have talked with other gynecologists and many of them feel pretty much the way that I feel.”3
And yet, research shows that Scott’s claim is completely false. In fact, abortion has detrimental effects on future fertility.
Abortion can actually harm future fertility
Multiple studies have found an increase in ectopic pregnancy after an abortion. One study found that 50.5% of women with ectopic pregnancies had abortions, while only 6.3% of those in the control group had. A French study linked ectopic pregnancy with use of the abortion pill.
Abortion reportedly increases the risk of neonatal sepsis in future pregnancies, which is a blood infection in an infant. Its treatment includes intravenous antibiotics and possible blood transfusion, and it can be fatal.
Another risk to future babies is intra-amniotic infection. According to researchers:
Infants born when there is IAI are at twofold risk of death, and more than twofold risk of sepsis. Women who labor with IAI [intra-amniotic infection] are at 3 times the risk of cesarean delivery, and higher risk of postpartum endometritis. Previous induced abortion has been associated with a 300% increased risk of intra-amniotic infection.4
One study found the rate of stillbirth increased 379% after an abortion that was followed by an infection.
Another risk of abortion is Asherman’s Syndrome, which is uterine adhesions and scar tissue that can cause infertility and/or miscarriage. According to PubMed, Asherman’s Syndrome “usually occurs following curettage of the pregnant or recently pregnant uterus.” This is done in an abortion procedure. One study found that 42.4% of patients with Asherman’s Syndrome who were getting treatment for infertility had previous abortions, a much higher percentage than in the general population.
One study showed that abortion increased the risk of placenta previa by 30%. A meta-analysis of multiple studies revealed an increased risk of 70%. A third study found an increased risk of 50% after an abortion. Placenta previa is the leading cause of uterine bleeding during the third trimester of pregnancy. It increases the likelihood of preterm birth, low birth weight and perinatal death. According to the Mayo Clinic, heavy bleeding caused by placenta previa…
… requires immediate medical attention at your nearest emergency health facility. Severe bleeding might require a blood transfusion.
Your health care provider will likely plan a C-section as soon as the baby can be delivered safely, ideally after 36 weeks of pregnancy. However, you might need to have an earlier delivery if heavy bleeding persists or if you have multiple bleeding episodes… If your bleeding can’t be controlled or your baby is in distress, you’ll likely need an emergency C-section — even if the baby is premature.
READ: What do women really think about abortion? The answer may surprise you.
The link between abortion and premature birth has been well-established in the literature. Secular Pro-Life’s website Prevent Preterm found over 100 studies done between 1972 and 2013 that show an increased risk of premature birth for women who had previous abortions.
Some studies have documented multiple problems after abortion. In a study from India, the authors said their research…
… clearly demonstrates the adverse effects of induced abortions on subsequent pregnancy, with increased incidence of [spontaneous] abortion [i.e., miscarriage], placenta previa, intrauterine growth retardation, preterm deliveries and low birth weight babies.5
This study also found that women who aborted had six times the risk of developing a subsequent ectopic pregnancy.
Another study found increased risks to fertility after abortion. The authors said the after-effects of abortion were difficult to study because researchers were “prone to bias.”
Despite the pro-abortion bias, multiple studies prove Scott’s claims false and show that abortion can endanger future babies and cause infertility.
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Miriam Claire The Abortion Dilemma: Personal Views on a Public Issue (Xlibris Corporation, 2013) 20-21
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Ibid.
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Ibid.
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Angela Lanfranchi, Ian Gentles and Elizabeth Ring – Cassidy Complications: Abortion’s Impact on Women, Second Ed.: Revised and Updated (Toronto, Canada: The deVeber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research, 2018)
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LK Dhaliwal, KR Gupta, S Gopalan “Induced Abortion and Subsequent Pregnancy Outcome” Journal of Family Welfare 2003; 49 (1): 50 – 5
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