Priscilla Coleman Responds to Critics

Today, Priscilla Coleman, the author of the article in the British Journal of Psychiatry presenting a meta-analysis purporting to demonstrate a causal relationship between abortion and mental health problems published a rapid reply, where she responds to her critics so far. Most of the response addresses scientific details (however, she seems to be responding only to a minor part of the scientific criticism), but a rather substantial part tries to address the claim from critics of personal bias and undisclosed conflicts of interests based on that on Coleman's part. As I understand it, Coleman's defense is that since, in her view, the American Psychological Association is furthering a pro choice stance, it is OK for her to be consciously biased in her research without telling so when publishing an article in a journal requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest. She also, seemingly without any sort of proof, accuses her critics and/or other (unnamed) researchers of sitting on unpublished studies that would support Coleman's claim. Rather remarkable, isn't it?

Read Coleman's response here.
Read my former posts on this topic here, here, here, here and here.

Stay tuned!

The Scare Tactics underlying Claims about Abortion Causing Mental Health Problems

I'm still waiting for my "rapid resonse" to Priscilla Coleman's article claiming abortion to cause mental health problems to appear at the British Journal of Psychiatry website. For my earlier posts on this matter, see here, here, here and here.

In the meantime I may point interested readers to a post by James C. Coyne (clinical health psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania and Professor of Health Psychology, University of Groningen), who runs a blog attached to the Psychology Today magazine. Coyne exposes the underlying political agenda of Coleman and her associates and makes the claim that, combined with the many faults of her article, this makes a case for there being an undisclosed conflict of interest. Further reason for suspecting such conflicts instead attach to BJP itself, since one of its associate editors is a loudly outspoken pro life activist known for letting ideological or political conviction dictate research findings.

Stay tuned!