Flawed research was used to justify abortion

A recent letter to the editor claimed that women who kill their own unborn children do not suffer psychologically as a result of their abortion and have a 95 percent level of satisfaction with their decision. The author of the letter quoted a 2015 study published in the not-for-profit Public Library of Science to justify her claim.

There is ample evidence for the inquiring mind to investigate regarding the flawed methodology and, therefore, unreliable conclusions drawn by referencing the noted study. In an article published in July of 2015, shortly after the study was released, Priscilla K. Coleman, Ph.D., noted six methodological issues and three bias issues that would render the findings of the study to be unreliable for drawing accurate conclusions.

Dr. Coleman is a professor of human development and family studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Her research has been published in close to 50 professional journals and she serves on the editorial boards of five international psychological and medical journals. In recent years, she has presented her research at conferences in Australia, Chile, the United States and several European nations. Dr. Coleman is a founder of WECARE, the World Expert Consortium for Abortion Research and Education.

In addition to the noted shortcomings, the PLOS publication is essentially "paid advertising" for the study authors as all PLOS revenue (per their own financials) comes from fees charged to the authors in order to publish the studies.

It would be better for all if we stopped trying to justify the killing of unborn children and worked to support mothers-to-be with life giving alternatives that conform to their personal life demands while preserving the life of an innocent human being.

Peter Gennuso

Schaumburg