The times, they are a-changing'

Probably because of attorneys.

The Pro-Choice Forum hosts a Psychological Issues website in conjunction with Division 35 of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of the psych issues forum is to serve as a think-tank for those who want to put forward the claim that abortion does not cause emotional damage.

I was fascinated over the weekend to see that they've very recently added a new paragraph to their front page. The new paragraph reads:

This site provides information about research findings and is not intended to provide advice or guidance to any individual. We acknowledge that numerous issues beyond the scope or purpose of this site will contribute to individual decisions

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Thanks to Google caching, here's a screenshot of the what their front page used to say. (Thanks, Jester and Peony.)

The Pro-Choice Forum clearly has a better legal staff than does the American Psychological Association, which in March 2004 issued this statement.

Even the National Coalition of Abortion Providers is taking the first tentative steps to acknowledging a tad of reality in this area.

I've written as follows to Lori Valencia Greene, the public relations flack for the APA who is in charge of answering inquiries about their March statement:

I notice that the briefing paper doesn't reference a number of recent studies in medical journals such as the Canadian Medical Association Journal and the British Medical Journal indicating problems with higher rates of depression and psychiatric hospitalization following abortion. See Medical research about the psychological aftermath of abortion.

Could you let me know who wrote the briefing paper, what committee approved it, and what process was followed in reaching the conclusions put forward in it?

I'm pretty sure they forget to vet the statement with someone who understands the legal implications of telling women that abortion doesn't cause emotional distress.