Could it be from a need to anesthetize the pain and guilt?

Women whose first unplanned pregnancy ends in abortion are significantly more likely to become drunks and junkies. That is the result of a study published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse this month. It is the 20th such article published in recent years -- but the silence is deafening in the media.

Why is it that the rate of substance abuse is double among aborted women? It isn't because of pre-abortion substance abuse, for the study limited itself to those who had no previous history of substance abuse. It appears to be a psychological response to the procedure.

Pro-life groups consider the results important as a tool for counseling against abortion and helping women who have had the procedure. Anti-life groups (including NOW and NARAL) refuse to comment, and will no doubt work to discredit these results rather than using them to help women.