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I have some questions regarding the statistics presented in this article. It states that up to 19 percent of women undergoing abortion experience regrets afterward. However, 50 percent of the women in the study have had multiple abortions. It seems reasonable to assume that these women would be far less likely to have regrets than their first-time peers and that to include them would bias the results. So, I conclude that as many as 38 percent of first-timers may have regrets, and the closing statement that “the findings boost confidence that [abortion] doesn’t stoke psychological problems” may be based on understated reports.

Kevin Kilzer
Chandler, Ariz.

The article says that the “definitive study of abortion’s mental aftermath is ethically impermissible.” However, reaction to abortion might be compared in two pertinent groups without violating ethics. One group would be those who carry their children to birth and give them up for adoption. Are their rates of dissatisfaction, regret, and depression higher or lower than those of women who chose abortion? The other group would be those who bore and raised their children. While few of them might express regret about not having aborted, comparing their rates of depression with those who had aborted or consented to adoption might be revealing.

Guy R. Loftman
Bloomington, Ind.