Radio Transcript

LIFE ISSUES NO. 2091

KOOP AND REAGAN

Recently, Planned Parenthood in Mexico publicized widely that, back in the 1980's, President Reagan and Surgeon General Koop had both concluded that abortion was safe and that it left no bad after-effects. I faxed a thorough refutation to Mexico City, and after that I flipped back to a program on this issue that I had recorded back then. It is the answer. Let me repeat what I said then:

“Much has been said recently about the Surgeon General's report to President Reagan on the after-effects of abortion. You may recall that President Reagan, in 1987, asked the Surgeon General to prepare such a report.

“Dr. Koop first asked me at National Right to Life, of which I was president, and then asked Planned Parenthood to prepare for him what each thought the report should say. He also went on to interview 25 other groups.

“Dr. Koop waited until two weeks before President Reagan went out of office. He then turned in, not a lengthy report, as requested, but rather only a three-and-a-half-page letter. The letter was shamelessly misquoted. Let me give you the essence of his message. He said: `I have concluded that, at this time, the available scientific evidence about the psychological aftermath of abortion simply cannot support either the preconceived beliefs of those who are pro-life or the preconceived beliefs of those who are pro-abortion.'

“He noted that there were over 250 scientific studies that dealt with the psychological aftermath of abortion. He and his staff had reviewed them, and `All were found to be flawed. The data do not support the premise that abortion does, nor do they support the premise that abortion does not, cause or contribute to psychological problems. Anecdotal reports abound on both sides.'

Flawed? Yes. None were long-term, prospective, double blind, well-controlled, in-depth studies. The kind of definitive proof that he wanted simply wasn't there, even though he said that there are plenty of individual cases of post-abortion syndrome that have been reported.

But here is the end of his sentence: “There is no valid scientific proof that abortion is safe.” He then asked for $10 million to do a study that could start yielding data after the first year and a massive five-year study that would cost $100 million. Neither was funded.

Even today, friends – and today in Mexico – the press keeps quoting Dr. Koop as saying there were no bad effects from abortion. But they fail to report the sentence immediately following which said there was also no scientific proof that abortion was safe. Let's remember to use that second sentence in the Surgeon General's report. Legal? Yes, but safe? There was no proof even back then that abortions were safe.

[07/12/99]