A nonprofit organization offering free counseling and social services to women experiencing unplanned pregnancies, Real Alternatives serves women and families in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan. Real Alternatives also works to offer information about the physical and emotional risks that can accompany abortion.
A range of recent studies indicate that abortion is linked to premature births and low birth weights. Early in 2018, for example, a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found evidence connecting some medically induced abortions to premature births in subsequent pregnancies. Dozens of other studies have also shown a greater statistical risk of premature birth, as well as of low-weight babies, when a woman has had previous abortions.
The March 2004 issue of the journal Human Reproduction reported similar findings. Studying thousands of premature births in locations across Europe, researchers discovered that a history of prior medically mediated abortions showed significant correlation with subsequent premature delivery. And women who had undergone more such abortions exhibited a stronger risk of pre-term births.
