Women who have had an abortion are twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to other women, a survey funded by the Charlotte Lozier Institute discovered.
The research article, released Jan. 21, reported the responses of 1,925 American women between the ages of 41 and 45 who have had induced abortions, problematic pregnancies, pregnancy losses and live births. The survey also included women who have never been pregnant.
The study found that 486 of the responders (25.2%) said that they had attempted suicide at least once. Of the five categories of women, the group with the highest rate of suicide attempts was the group who had abortions (34.7%). The second most likely was the group of women who had lost a child during pregnancy (30%).
Of the responders, 409 (21.2%) reported that they had an abortion before.
Within the group that said they’d had an abortion and had attempted suicide, those who were coerced into having an abortion had the highest suicide attempt rate (46.2%) while women who had abortions aligned with their wants, values and preferences comprised 29.5%.
Compared to the women who had a live birth, the women coerced into an abortion were 24.13 times more likely to attribute their suicide attempts to their pregnancy outcomes. Those who had an unwanted abortion were 8.04 times more likely, and the women who had wanted their abortion were 5.08 times more likely, in comparison with those who had a live baby.
Cissie Graham Lynch has encouraged women who’ve had an abortion to seek the hope found only in Jesus Christ.
“I know these Biblical beliefs on abortion aren’t popular in America today, but
though our culture may be confused, the church should not be. One out of three women sitting in a pew at church have had an abortion, and God offers them grace and forgiveness,” Cissie wrote in her Fearless Family: Eight-Day Election Prayer Guide. “And to the pregnant women who are scared or conflicted, He offers truth, courage, and love.”
Cissie believes Christians should protect mothers and the unborn by standing against abortion while speaking truth in love to the crushed in spirit.
“As the church, we must be a people who speak the truth with grace. We can tend to lean too far in either direction, becoming either too soft or too harsh, which can leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth. But Jesus demonstrated the perfect balance of both truth and grace. He’s the strong King who crushed death itself, yet Isaiah also described Him by saying ‘a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench.’”
