Chapter A. APB (Abortion-Preterm-Birth) risk Overview 
 
     A preterm birth is a birth that occurs before 37 full weeks (259
 days) of gestation.  Such newborn are at  increased  risk for handi-
 caps (e.g.s.  asthma, cerebral  palsy, blindness, low IQ). Very pre-
 term newborn are at even higher  risk of handicaps; depending on the
 researchers, 'very preterm' birth is defined as birth before 35, 34,
 or 32 weeks' gestation.  There are over fifty (50) studies that have
 reported that previous induced abortions  'significantly' increase a
 woman's risk of later having a preterm or low birth weight  newborn.
 Being at least 95% confident of increased risk (i.e. 'significance')
 is the 'gold standard' of medical research. NO studies have reported
 that previous induced abortions  'significantly'  reduce  subsequent
 prematurity risk compared to women without prior induced  abortions.
 If one limits one's view to studies that achieve the 'gold standard'
 , the evidence for prematurity risk from  induced  abortions is 100%
 lopsided in favor of higher risk.

    Do  any leading PB (preterm birth) experts support the APB  risk?
 Yes, three world renowned experts:  Professor  Barbara Luke, Judith
 Lumley (PhD),  Emile  Papiernik (MD).  Is the APB risk  biologically
 plausible?  Yes, via incompetent cervix and infection of the genital
 /urinary track, two known side effects of induced abortion  surgery.
 What other evidence is there? Most studies that looked for it, found
 that the more the number of prior induced abortions,  the higher the
 risk of subsequent prematurity. Researchers term this 'dose/response'
 .  Bottom line: the APB risk is VERY credible.

    Since women 'consented' to the induced abortion, did they consent
 to elevated  risk  of  preterm birth?  No, most  consent  forms list
 infection risk and some list incompetent cervix risk  (e.g. cervical
 laceration) but NONE list a major consequence of these risks: higher
 risk of a  subsequent  preterm  birth.  Thus, women  signing consent
 forms did NOT consent to a  higher  risk of a later  preterm  birth.
 Since induced abortion is  usually an  ELECTIVE (!) procedure, women
 must be informed of a credible health risk such as APB; ie. the  APB
 risk need only to shown to be credible and CONCLUSIVE  proof  is NOT
 required for warnings on consent forms of possible prematurity risk.

     Cerebral Palsy (improper balance, posture, and motion) is a very
 serious  handicap  and  can  be  extremely  expensive for parents of
 children with CP. Extremely premature U.S. infants  (weighing  under
 3 pounds, 5 ounces)  have  about  forty-six  times the risk of CP as
 the general  newborn  population.32  Since induced  abortion  boosts
 prematurity risk, abortion is a credible  risk  for a future newborn
 having CP.  But it  must be  mentioned that  pregnant women with in-
 fections have a higher risk of having a newborn with CP, even if the
 infant was born full-term.27

     Can a woman with an induced abortion history  prior to the birth
 of a newborn with cerebral palsy (or other handicap) win a  law suit
 alleging 'medical negligence' or 'battery'?  This 'brief' will  only
 seriously address the medical aspects of this question.

copyright Brent Rooney ( [email protected] )