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ABORTION and AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE: Learn the Facts
What is autoimmune disease?
What is microchimerism?
• A class of disorders that occur when the
body’s immune system mistakenly attacks
and destroys healthy tissue.
• The transfer of fetal immune cells
across the placenta into the mother’s
bloodstream, and their circulation and
occupancy in her tissues.
• Autoimmune disease is the third most
common category of disease, after heart
disease and cancer.1
• Fetal microchimerism might be one
cause of autoimmune disease.2
• This fetal-maternal transfer of cells is a normal
part of pregnancy, since for the fetus to survive
the mother’s immune system must not attack
it.2 However, there is some evidence that
microchimerism may increase the risk of
autoimmune disease by sparking a response from the mother’s immune system.3
Presence of microchimerism
Surgical abortion
Medical abortion
Normal pregnancy
Never pregnant
“ …the consistently rising incidence
of autoimmune diseases in women
over the past four decades may be
attributed to the increase in the
utilization of abortion.”4
Risk of autoimmune disease
Abortion increases the risk of autoimmune
disease through 2 mechanisms:
A. 1.) Before abortion 2.) After abortion
A. Increased fetal microchimerism:5 During an abortion,
as the placenta is destroyed, there is an increased transfer of
fetal cells to the mother, which may remain in her tissues.
Women who have had an abortion may be
as much as eight times more likely to have
microchimerism.6
B. Loss of Immune System Suppression: 7 Early Pregnancy Factor is responsible for suppressing the maternal immune
system during pregnancy. However, after an abortion, this factor is no longer produced, resulting in increased activity of the
immune system.
Immune
Response
B. 1.) Before abortion
2.) After abortion
Legend:
Fetal cells
Early Pregnancy Factor
Immune
Response
The deVeber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research
Research and Scholarship for an Informed Social Response to Human Life Questions
www.deveber.org
1 Fairweather D. Autoimmune Disease: Mechanisms. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2007,pp.1-7. Online edition: www.els.net
2 Sarkar K and Miller FW. Possible roles and determinants of microchimerism in autoimmune and other disorders. Autoimmunity Reviews 2004; 3(6): 453-63, p. 455.;
Yan Z, Lambert NC, Guthrie KA, et al. Male microchimerism in women without sons: quantitative assessment and correlation with pregnancy history. American Journal of Medicine 2005; 118(8): p. 900.
3 Ibid.
4 Miech RP. The role of fetal microchimerism in autoimmune disease. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine 2010; 3(2): pp. 162-8.
5 Ando T, Davies TF. Postpartum Autoimmune Thyroid Disease: The Potential Role of Fetal Microchimerism. The journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2003; 88(7): pp. 2965-71.
6 Bianchi DW, Farina A, Weber W, Delli-Bovi LC, DeRiso M, Williams JM, Klinger KW. Significant fetal-maternal hemorrhage after termination of pregnancy: Implications for development of fetal cell
microchimerism. American journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2001; 184(4): 703-6, p. 705.
7 Yan Z, Lambert NC, Guthrie KA, Porter AJ, Loubiere LS, Madeleine MM, Stevens AM, Hermes HM, Nelson JL. Male Microchimerism in Women without Sons: Quantitative Assessment and Correlation
with Pregnancy History. American Journal of Medicine 2005; 118(8): p. 900.