Abused women tend to hide abortion from partner

Domestic violence may keep some women from telling their partners about their decision to have an abortion, a study published Tuesday suggests.

Researchers found that among more than 800 women who’d had an abortion at a single clinic, the rate of domestic abuse was twice as high among those who had kept the decision from their husbands or partners.The implication, according to the study authors, is that the abuse contributed to women’s nondisclosure, at least in some cases.Dr. Junda Woo of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston led the study. The findings are published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.The researchers obtained their results through anonymous questionnaires given to 818 women who had had an abortion at one Houston clinic. Overall, about 17 percent said they had not told the father about their decision. Among these women, nearly one-quarter said they had been physically or sexually abused in the past year — usually by a boyfriend, husband, ex-husband or other partner. That compared with 12 percent of women whose partners knew about the abortion.According to Woo and her colleagues, women who did not tell their partners about the abortion most often cited one of two reasons: the relationship had “no future,” or they did not feel they had to tell the father. Twenty-one percent said their partners would have opposed the abortion.However, abuse may have been another important factor, according to the researchers. The fact that domestic abuse was twice as common among nondisclosers suggests that the abuse “may have adversely affected open communication” between some women and their partners, Woo and her colleagues write.Of “greatest concern,” they point out, 8 percent of women who kept their abortions private feared that their partners would physically harm them if they told them.Some previous studies have suggested that, in general, women who seek abortions may suffer domestic abuse at a higher-than-average rate. “Domestic violence is a pervasive health problem,” Woo and her colleagues write, “particularly among abortion patients.”They recommend that abortion providers routinely screen women for domestic abuse, since many of their patients may otherwise rarely seek healthcare.”In particular,” the authors add, “physicians should have a high index of suspicion for domestic violence among patients who avoid disclosing the abortion to their partners.”(Source: Obstetrics and Gynecology: Reuters Health: June 2005.)