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The APA Task Force's conclusions were limited to cases of a single, elective abortion of adult women and did not address abortions for teenagers (representing about 17% of all abortions), nor did it address the effects of multiple abortions on women, which account for about half of all abortions in the United Stateds.<ref name=wsj1>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121868309379939765.html Study Fails to Find Link On Abortion, Mental Health] By STEPHANIE SIMON, The Wall Street Journal August 14, 2008; Page D6. accessed 8/15/2008</ref> The lead author, Brenda Major told Reuters that "The evidence regarding the relative mental health risks assocaited with multiple abortions is more uncertain."<ref name="reuters1">[http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN1346057620080813 "One abortion no threat to mental health: group"] Reuters. Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:59pm EDT accessed 8/15/2005.</ref> Women with prior mental health problems, women who worried about stigma or secrecy, and those with low self-esteem, the Task Force concluded, were more likely to develop mental health problems after an abortion.<ref name="reuters1"/>
The APA Task Force's conclusions were limited to cases of a single, elective abortion of adult women and did not address abortions for teenagers (representing about 17% of all abortions), nor did it address the effects of multiple abortions on women, which account for about half of all abortions in the United Stateds.<ref name=wsj1>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121868309379939765.html Study Fails to Find Link On Abortion, Mental Health] By STEPHANIE SIMON, The Wall Street Journal August 14, 2008; Page D6. accessed 8/15/2008</ref> The lead author, Brenda Major told Reuters that "The evidence regarding the relative mental health risks assocaited with multiple abortions is more uncertain."<ref name="reuters1">[http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN1346057620080813 "One abortion no threat to mental health: group"] Reuters. Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:59pm EDT accessed 8/15/2005.</ref> Women with prior mental health problems, women who worried about stigma or secrecy, and those with low self-esteem, the Task Force concluded, were more likely to develop mental health problems after an abortion.<ref name="reuters1"/>
In 1969, four years before ''Roe v Wade'', the American Psychological Association adopted as part of it's official policy the political position that abortion is a civil right.<ref name=hdavid>David, H. [http://web.uvic.ca/~apadiv34/contents/PEPB/PEPB253.pdf "Retrospectives" From APA Task Force to Division 34"] Population & Environmental Psychology Bulletin 1999, 25(3):2-3.</ref> The petition was
:WHEREAS, termination of unwanted pregnancies is clearly a mental health and child welfare issue, and a legitimate concern of APA; be it resolved, that termination of pregnancy be considered a civil right of the pregnant woman, to be handled as other medical and surgical procedures in consultation with her physician... <ref name="Throck2">[http://www.drthrockmorton.com/article.asp?id=204 Abortion and American Psychology] Warren Throckmorton, PhD</ref>
At the same time, the APA established the Task Force on Psychology, Family Planning and Population Policy to "(a) to prepare "a review of the current state of psychological research related to family planning and population policy and (b) to make recommendations for encouraging greater research and professional service participation by psychologists in this emerging area of social concern." The Task Force was made up of APA members with an interest in family planning and population control and was instrumental in the establishing in 1974 the APA Division 34 on Population and Environmental Psychology (APA Division 34)<ref name=hdavid/> The members of this division subsequently contributed information to Surgeon General Koop and published an important review of the literature on abortion and mental health in 1990 (discussed below). Two members of the original task force, Brenda Major and Nancy Russo, were also on the second task force which published the new position paper on abortion in 2008, with Brenda Major acting as the chair of that task force.
Immediately after the 2008 Task Force Report was published, evidence came to light that the chair of the Task Force, Brenda Major, has been violating the APA's own ethics rules on data sharing by refusing to share her own data on mental health effects associated with abortion, gathered under a federal grant, with other researchers.<ref name=ThrockMajor>[http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/14/allegations-cloud-apa-mental-health-and-abortion-report/ Allegations cloud APA Mental Health and Abortion report] by Warren Throckmorton </ref>.<ref name=ertelt1><http://www.dakotavoice.com/2008/08/following-truth-where-ever-it-leads.html>Steven Ertelt <http://www.lifenews.com/nat4135.html Researcher: APA Chair Withholding Info on Abortion's Mental Health Risks> LifeNews.com August 15, 2008</ref>
===Nancy Russo===
Nancy Russo is a significant figure in the APA subgroup involved pro-choice advocacy. In a letter in the APA's newsletter responding to the subgroups one sided promotion of pro-choice activism, Russo wrote:
<blockquote>In 1969, APA's Council of Representatives resolved that abortion be considered a "civil right of the pregnant woman." More recently, pro-life misrepresentation of research findings led the council to resolve that APA disseminate scientific information on reproductive issues to policy-makers and the public. Our work is a direct response to that mandate.
<br>
Gallagher naïvely assumes findings with implications for women's lives can be "apolitical." Science always reflects the values of scientists--the difference here is that we state our values up front and do not pretend scientific methods make findings value-free....
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Finally, the Phillip Morris analogy is inapt. We have no interest, economic or otherwise, in portraying abortion as a risk-free event. A pro-choice position means that we believe abortion is the woman's choice, that women should be given accurate information and informed consent in making their reproductive choices, and that they be supported in their decisions. The charge that this activity, which is congruent with APA policy and conducted in conformance with scientific standards, "undermines the integrity" of APA is without basis.<Ref>[ http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr03/letters.html RESPONSE FROM DIV. 35 TASK FORCE ON REPRODUCTIVE ISSUES] </ref>
</blockquote>
Russo expressed similar sentiments to a columnist with the Washington Times in dismissing the significance of the Fergusson study:
"To pro-choice advocates, mental health effects are not relevant to the legal context of arguments to restrict access to abortion." <ref>Warren Trockmorton, Washington TImes, "Abortion and mental health" January 21, 2005. reprinted [http://www.drthrockmorton.com/article.asp?id=177 here]</ref>
Similarly, she told a science reporter from the Toledo Blade newspaper saying "As far as I'm concerned, whether or not an abortion creates psychological difficulties is not relevant...it means you give proper informed consent and you deal with it".<ref>JENNI LAIDMAN [http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040122/NEWS09/101220084 After decades of research, evaluating abortion's effect still difficult] Toledo Blade January 22, 2004</ref>
In 2005, Russo and Denious described the promotion of post-abortion syndrome as part of a campaign to develop a rationale for suing physicians who provide abortions and thus deterring the provision of legal abortion services. The authors wrote that: "There is no scientific basis for constructing (sic?) abortion as a severe physical or mental health threat," describing as "most worrisome... the publication of deeply flawed studies that contain miscoded data and meaningless findings (e.g., Reardon & Cougle, 2002) which are then used as 'evidence' that abortion is harmful to women."<ref name="JSoc2"> Russo, Denious. Journal of Social Issues. 2005 </ref>
Reardon and Cougle have denied that their studies are flawed, miscoded, or meaningless and have accused Russo of slanting the findings of her own studies to promote a pro-abortion agenda by recoding the data to exclude women who were pressured into unwanted abortions while also adding women who had subsequent abortion into the control group, omitting mention of a 60% concealment rate, failing to describe a large body of studies, including others done by Russo, which have confirmed a persistent association between abortion and depression, and for exaggeration of the importance of satistically insignificant results.<ref>[http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/331/7528/1303#120455 Study Fails to Address Our Previous Findings and Subject to Misleading Interpretations] Reardon, BMJ, Rapid Responses 2005</ref>
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