Vincent Rue

He is known for being one of the first to propose a link between abortion and mental health problems, which he dubbed post-abortion syndrome when testifying before Congress in the early 1980s.[4][5] Post-abortion syndrome is not recognized by as a condition by the American Psychological Association or the American Psychiatric Association.[6] In 1987, Rue presented a paper titled "The Psychological Aftermath of Abortion: A White Paper"—to the then-surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, who rejected it.[3] Since the 1980s, Rue has, along with fellow anti-abortion activists Priscilla K. Coleman and David Reardon, published a number of studies indicating that abortion increases women's risk of mental health problems, such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder,[7] though the Pro-Choice Action Network says that these studies only establish correlation, which does not necessarily prove a causal relationship.[8] The Guttmacher Institute says that a study published by Rue et al. in the Journal of Psychiatric Research in 2009[9] included all mental health problems with which women were diagnosed over their entire lifetimes, thus negating the argument that these disorders were caused by having abortions.[10]

In 1992, Rue's testimony in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey case was thrown out by a district judge, who concluded that it was not credible.[11] In 2014, judge Myron Herbert Thompson criticized the state of Alabama for hiring Rue to defend anti-abortion legislation.[12]