F. Cerebral Palsy and Preterm Birth
 
     A person who smokes cigarettes  multiplies  his/her  risk of  lung
 cancer by about a factor of eleven (11) compared to one who has  never
 smoked cigarettes.  This is considered a dramatic increase in disease
 risk.  Compare this risk to the risk of  cerebral  palsy  for very low
 birth weight (under 1500 grams which equals 3 pounds 5 ounces) newborn
 . A VLBW newborn has about thirty-eight (38) times (46 times  for U.S.
 VLBW newborn) the risk of cerebral palsy as newborn in the general pop-
 ulation.32  In 1991 researchers performed a meta-analysis (a study  of
 studies) to arrive at this  relative  risk  number.34  This  'study of
 studies' analyzed both U.S. and non-U.S. studies  and  found  that the
 overall relative CP risk was thirty-eight times. However, the  risk of
 cerebral palsy for a U.S. VLBW newborn was 50 percent higher than that
 of non-U.S. newborn.32  The  more  preterm a birth the higher the risk 
 of a VLBW birth. It should be noted that even if a woman with previous
 induced abortions has a full-term birth, her elevated  infection  risk
 means that her newborn has a raised CP  risk  compared to  other full-
 term newborn.27

    Preterm birth and infection are accepted risk factors for  cerebral
 palsy.34  Dr. Janet Daling acknowledges  that she is 'pro-choice'.  In
 1992 Dr. Daling and Marijane Krohn reported that women with an induced
 abortion in the previous pregnancy have 140 percent increased risk  of
 intraamniotic infection compared to women who did not have an  induced
 abortion in their previous pregnancy.31  In plain English 'intraamniot-
 ic infection' means that the unborn's 'living quarters' are infected.

    The APB-CP risk is a 'chain' with two (2) strong links:

    1. previous induced abortions increase risk of  preterm  birth and
       very preterm birth
    2. preterm birth and especially, very preterm birth escalates risk
       of cerebral palsy

    There is no study that has examined 'induced abortion boosting risk
 of cerebral palsy'. Is ACP (induced Abortion-Cerebral-Palsy) a credible
 risk?  If each  'link' in the  two link chain  was weak or moderate in
 strength, then the credibility of the ACP  risk  might only exceed the
 'level of being credible' by a small amount.  However, as this  entire
 'brief' has made clear, both links in this 'two link chain'  are  very
 strong. Combining this high credibility with the fact that an ELECTIVE
 (!) procedure is involved should lead objective medical expert to con-
 clude that the ACP risk should be disclosed on abortion clinic consent
 forms as a possible risk.
 
    Premature births  escalate the risks  for many handicaps other than 
 cerebral palsy. These include asthma, heart problems, blindness, deaf-
 ness, low IQ, and susceptibility to infections, etc.  Thus, women have
 a legitimate fear of 'preemie' births.  Elliot Gersh (MD) is a develop-
 mental pediatrician and Medical Director of the Mt. Washington Pediat-
 ric Hospital in Prince George's County, Maryland. Gersh wrote that one
 risk factor for  cerebral palsy is, "Incompetent cervix (premature di-
 lation) leading to premature delivery".35 Dr. Gersh also lists preterm
 birth as a CP risk factor.

copyright Brent Rooney ( [email protected] )