Letter to the Editor - CMAJ

Philip G. Ney, MD, MA, FRCPC, RPsych

© March 2005

Common Factors in Abortion/Abuse Cases

Dear Dr Hoey:

In their article "Characteristics of women undergoing repeat induced abortions", Fisher et al discovered some important factors but these are not the only ones. In a reasonably representative sample of a reasonable size we examined 54 possible factors and found that the experience of violence and sexual abuse in childhood were more common in women who choose abortion or repeat abortions, than women who have full term pregnancies. When all the factors of significance are compared in a step wise regression, it turns out the a history of neglect in childhood and the woman's mother having had an abortion were more closely correlated to the choice of abortion. In another study we found that women who were neglected and abused in childhood more frequently have husbands who neglect and abuse them. It would appear that women who have repeat abortions, just like the rest of humanity don't learn from their tragedy. In fact it seems that the experience of trauma, if unresolved, propels a person to try to understand what happened the first time by helping to set up a reenactment. Moreover it appears that insufficiently understood tragedy of one generation is passed on to the next for reenactment and possible resolution.

Yours sincerely,
Philip Ney MD FRCP[C] Victoria BC