An open letter on the issue of public funding of abortion

Dear Sir,

The private funding of abortion would provide considerable savings for the next British
government. With such high public debt, the next government will be forced to consider a whole
range of options on how to save public money. The UK public sector net debt is around £848.5
billion, 59.9% of national GDP.1 The British taxpayer funds an abortion every 3 minutes and 20
seconds, or 489 abortions every day. With an abortion costing between £520 and £1610, the British
taxpayer spends upwards of £0.1 billion on abortions every year. In Britain there are 200,000
abortions every year. The NHS currently pays for 89% of all abortions in Britain. Recent adverts in
Poland have advised women to travel to the United Kingdom to be provided with free abortions.2

With potential savings of up to £100 million pounds, is it not sensible to scrap abortions being paid
for by the National Health Service? The government cannot be committed to reducing the number
of abortions if at the same time it is financing their provision. Imagine if the government was
attempting to reduce smoking whilst providing free cigarettes, reduce teenage drinking whilst
providing free alcopops on demand, or even reduce knife crimes whilst providing knives for free all
around the country! This absurdity demonstrates, if the government was serious about reducing
abortions, it would not facilitate, encourage and finance them.

I am pro choice. I believe in choosing between Chinese and Indian food, where I live, what kind of
car I drive. But I am not pro choice about rape, burglary, kidnapping or killing children. In this
country alone, over 6 million children have been killed in the womb since the legalisation of
abortion in 1967. The NHS will be able to redirect this money into a variety of options that seek to
help and serve women in difficult situations.

Abortion is not healthcare. There is no proven medical benefit to this procedure and no disease is
solved. Abortion complications are seriously under-reported, leaving women who have an abortion
largely unaware of the physical and psychological risks they might encounter. Possible immediate
complications are excessive bleeding, possibly causing removal of the uterus, puncture and tearing
of the womb, infection (mild to fatal- sometimes parts of the baby are left in the womb), cervical
laceration in 5% of women, hepatitis from blood transfusion, blood clots and embolisms and
infertility, caused by scraping that damages the lining of the uterus. Women who are considering an
abortion need to be made aware of these possible complications, just like any other medical
procedure.

Abortion also has further medical complications, which also cost the British taxpayer. Over 30
epidemiological studies throughout the world since 1957 have associated induced abortion with an
increased breast cancer risk. An abortion in the early months of pregnancy when oestrogen levels
are high predisposes a woman to getting breast cancer. Joel Brind has shown that abortion elevates a
women’s overall risk of developing breast cancer by 30%.3 A 1995 Harvard university study on
over 2,000 women in Greece found a significant 51% increase breast cancer risk among women

1 Source: Office of National Statistics (February 18th, 2010).

2 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1257970/Get-free-abortion-NHS-
Women-Poland-told-travel-Britain-treatment.html

3 J. Brind, Chinchillli VM, Severs WB Summy-Long J. Induced abortion as an independent risk

factor for breast Cancer: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiology
and community health (1996) 50: 481-496
who had an abortion. A 1994 National Cancer Institute study of over 1,800 women in Washington
State found a significant 50% increased risk among women who had any abortions.

Abortion has many physical implications. Abortion can result in a 50% increase in the risk of
ectopic pregnancy.4 10-40% of women who have abortions are infected with chlamydia. Women
with this STI are much more likely to develop Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) following an
abortion. Women suffering from PID have a one in six chance of tubal infertility after an abortion.5
Abortion can result in an 80% increase in the likelihood of future children being delivered
prematurely.6 All these effects harm and damage women in this process.
Abortion can also bring considerable psychological problems. In 1987, the American Psychiatric
Association classified post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS) as a sub-type of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD).7 Between 7% and 41% of women experience "psychological illness" after an
abortion.8 Women are 6 times more likely to commit suicide after an abortion than after giving
birth.9 Abortion brings tragic consequences to women. The parody of choice is that some women
have abortions because they feel that they had 'no choice.' The provision of services such as
counselling and emotional support already offered by a number of reputable organisations, could be
further funded by the savings to the taxpayer.

Abortion involves the destruction of a human life: a tragedy for everyone. Dietrich von Hildebrand,
a philosopher, once said, "A society that kills its children has no future." At this present time in our
country, one in three children are being killed in the womb, is it time that the state stopped paying
and sponsoring such acts? Such money saved could then be reinvested into society to provide and
care for women, helping them to make wise choices that will help to nurture and nourish family life.
Money saved could be used to provide adoption, pregnancy testing and post abortion counselling.
This would help women regardless of their situation. Those adamant on having an abortion would
be able to on their own financial terms.

With warmest regards,

Yours faithfully,

Robert Colquhoun
Robert543 (AT) gmail.com

4 British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Vol 108, October 2001

5 British Medical Journal: Vol 300, 1990, p1090-10910

6 European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Vol 80, October 1998.

7 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder: Vol 3, 1987

8 Southern Medical Journal, Vol. 80, p817-821

9 Suicides after pregnancy: 1987-1994, British Medical Journal, 1996