Abortion doping

Last updated

Abortion doping is a rumoured practice of purposely inducing pregnancy specifically for athletic performance-enhancing benefits, and then aborting the pregnancy. Rumours and allegations began during international sporting events in the mid-twentieth century, and a number of doctors and scientists have repeated claims about it, but it remains unproven, and is often regarded as a myth.

Contents

Potential physical benefits

Hormonal and other changes in pregnancy affect physical performance. In the first three months it is known that a woman's body produces a natural surplus of red blood cells, which are well supplied with oxygen-carrying hemoglobin, in order to support the growing fetus. [1] Other potential advantages are obtained from the surge in hormones that pregnancy induces, predominantly progesterone and estrogen, but also testosterone, which could increase muscle strength. Increases in hormones like relaxin, which loosens the hip joints to prepare for childbirth, may have a performance-enhancing effect on joint mobility. [1] Peter Larkins, an official of the Australian Sports Medicine Association, opined that the advantages of abortion doping would be "far outweighed by the drawbacks of morning sickness and fatigue" which are common in early pregnancy. [2]

Although female athletes often become pregnant during their careers and immediately before major sports events, and although many athletes have reported increased performance while being pregnant, "abortion doping" refers specifically to deliberate pregnancy with the express aim to increase performance. The stigma and beliefs surrounding abortion doping have been found to have a detrimental effect on female athletes who become pregnant during an active career. [3]

Claims

Western media outlets began accusing Soviet countries of abortion doping as early as the 1956 Summer Olympics, and allegations were raised again at the 1964 Summer Olympics. [2] Rumours of abortion doping continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s, predominately aimed at East German athletes. [1]

Concerns around pregnancy as a doping method were discussed in an IOC Medical Commission meeting on February 16, 1984, though the idea was dismissed as members did not feel “that such a procedure would be of benefit to the female athletes”. [4]

On May 22, 1988, Finnish doctor Risto Erkola reportedly told the Sunday Mirror "It's horrible and immoral. Now that drug testing is routine, pregnancy is becoming the favourite way of getting an edge on competitors". [5] [6] The second sentence of Erkola's comment is frequently cited in discussions, reports and papers [3] on abortion doping. [2] According to the fact-checking website Snopes.com, media reports following this claim were skeptical of it, and "it is not clear if Erkola would have had any first-hand knowledge of Soviet doping practices". [2] In the same Sunday Mirror story, Prof. Renate Huch (misspelled "Hoch" by Sunday Mirror) of Geneva, who deals with artificial insemination, said that "the problem has become so widespread now that [we] made a rule never to help a woman athlete if she wants to get pregnant purely and simply to win a race." [5] [7]

On the First Permanent World Conference on Anti-Doping in Sport held in June 1988, Prince Alexandre de Merode, the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), supported reports that Eastern European athletes were getting artificially inseminated and then aborting two to three months later in an attempt to boost athletic performance on the First Permanent World Conference on Anti-Doping in Sport. Merode said he knew a Swiss doctor who performed the procedure. [8] Dr. Robert Voy of the United States Olympic Committee dismissed such claims as a "ludicrous myth". [9]

In the Textbook in Physiology and Pathophysiology (1999), Dr. Paul-Erik Paulev, a Danish professor of physiology at the University of Copenhagen, wrote that "in some countries female athletes have become pregnant for 2-3 months, in order to improve their performance just following an abortion." Dr. Paulev's comment is also frequently cited in discussions on abortion doping; [3] his comments were first made in a self-published document that contains no references for its assertions regarding abortion doping. [2]

In November 1994, a person claiming to be Olga Karasyova, who won a gold medal in gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics, gave an interview with German television station RTL Television, in which she said that abortion doping was widespread among Soviet athletes in the 1970s, and that girls as young as 14 were being forced to have sex with their coaches. [10] When contacted by various newspapers for comment, Karasyova said the person who had given the interviews was an imposter. [11] [2] [12] In 1997, Karasyova successfully sued the Russian newspaper "AIDS-Info" for libel after they published references to the 1994 story. [13] [14] Despite her legal victory, the original interviews attributed to her continue to be reported as facts by some third parties. [2] [15]

As of 2002, Snopes.com categorises abortion doping as "unproven", concluding that "abortion doping claims, specifically, have their roots in Cold War era rumors, are confirmed only by a single dubious case, are buttressed by speculative science, and are largely amplified in recent years by anti-abortion groups." Snopes accuse anti-abortion groups of selective reporting and using poorly sourced arguments when writing articles about the subject. [2] Feminist Germaine Greer wrote in 2007 that "there is no real evidence" that abortion doping has ever been done, and British health journalist Peta Bea found in 2009 that "evidence that it occurred has never been substantiated". [1] [8]

Legality

The practice is not considered illegal by the IOC. Prince Alexandre de Merode has stated the organisation does not "police motherhood". [16] Abortion doping is not on the World Anti-Doping Agency's current list of prohibited substances or methods. [17]

Fictional coverage

The issue is addressed in season two of the Finnish-German crime drama television series Arctic Circle .

See also

Related Research Articles

Prince Alexandre de Merode was a member of the Belgian princely House of Merode and was the head of drug testing policy for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until his death.

In competitive sports, doping is the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by athletes, as a way of cheating. As stated in the World Anti-Doping Code by WADA, doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the anti-doping rule violations outlined in Article 2.1 through Article 2.11 of the Code. The term doping is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical and is prohibited by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. Furthermore, athletes taking explicit measures to evade detection exacerbate the ethical violation with overt deception and cheating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court of Arbitration for Sport</span> International arbitral body for sports disputes

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its courts are located in New York City, Sydney, and Lausanne. Temporary courts are established in current Olympic host cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada has competed at 28 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. This count includes the 1906 Olympic Games, deemed unofficial 43 years after they were held. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia at the Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Russia, referred to by its formal name; the Russian Federation, by the International Olympic Committee, has competed at the modern Olympic Games on many occasions, but as different nations in its history. As the Russian Empire, the nation first competed at the 1900 Games, and returned again in 1908 and 1912. After the Russian revolution in 1917, and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, it would be thirty years until Russian athletes once again competed at the Olympics, as the Soviet Union at the 1952 Summer Olympics. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992, and finally returned once again as Russia at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Winter Olympics medal table</span> Award

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Turin, Italy, from February 10 to 26, 2006. A total of 2,508 athletes representing 80 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 84 events from 15 different sports and disciplines.

Competitors at the Olympic Games have used banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span>

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga Zaitseva</span> Russian biathlete (born 1978)

Olga Alekseyevna Zaitseva is a former Russian biathlete. She began her career in 1994. After not competing in the 2014–15 season, Zaitseva announced her retirement on 24 January 2015. Shortly afterwards she announced that she had been appointed as caretaker head coach of the Russian biathlon team.

Since their discovery, anabolic steroids (AAS) have been widely used as performance-enhancing drugs to improve performance in sports, to improve one's physical appearance, as self-medication to recover from injury, and as an anti-aging aid. Use of anabolic steroids for purposes other than treating medical conditions is controversial and, in some cases, illegal. Major sports organizations have moved to ban the use of anabolic steroids. There is a wide range of health concerns for users. Legislation in many countries restricts and criminalizes AAS possession and trade.

The government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) conducted a decades-long program of coercive administration and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, initially testosterone, later mainly anabolic drugs, to its elite athletes. The aim of the program, which began in the 1960s, was to bolster East Germany's state image and prestige by winning medals in international competition such as the Olympic Games. The system was extremely formalised and heavily based on secrecy. Scholars and athletes have noted the pervasiveness of operations, the secrecy surrounding them, and the extent of abuse that athletes suffered because of them. While doping brought East Germany impressive results in sporting events, it was often devastating to the health of the athletes involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Winter Olympics medal table</span> Award

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 23 February. A total of 2,873 athletes from 88 nations participated in 98 events in 7 sports across 15 different disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Summer Olympics medal table</span> Award

The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, was a summer multi-sport event held in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August. A total of 10,768 athletes from 204 nations participated in 302 events in 26 sports across 39 different disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga Karasyova</span> Soviet artistic gymnast (born 1949)

Olga Karasyova, also known as Olga Kovalenko, is a former Soviet gymnast who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics. Olga was coached by Igor Zhuravlev at CSKA Moscow. She is married to fellow gymnast Valery Karasyov, and studied French at the Pedagogical Institute.

Doping, or the use of restricted performance-enhancing drugs in the United States occurs in different sports, most notably in the sports of baseball and football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100 metres at the Olympics</span> Track and field event

The 100 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 100 metres has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The 100 metres is considered one of the blue ribbon events of the Olympics and is among the highest profile competitions at the games. It is the most prestigious 100 metres race at an elite level and is the shortest sprinting competition at the Olympics – a position it has held at every edition except for a brief period between 1900 and 1904, when a men's 60 metres was contested.

The Oswald Commission was a disciplinary commission of the International Olympic Committee ("IOC"), chaired by IOC member Denis Oswald. It was responsible for investigating and ruling on doping violations by individual Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

The team event in figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 4, 6, and 7 February, at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Haidian District of Beijing.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bee, Peta (September 14, 2009). "Sportswomen benefit from pregnancy". The Times . Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kasprak, Alex (December 5, 2017). "Is 'Abortion Doping' a Real Practice?". Snopes.com . Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  3. 1 2 3 Sorensen, E. A. (2009). Debunking the Myth of Pregnancy Doping. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 2(2), 269–285. https://doi.org/10.1123/jis.2.2.269
  4. ↑ Posbergh, Anna (2023), "Contradiction or Cohesion? Tracing Questions of Protection and Fairness in Scientifically Driven Elite Sport Policies" (PDF), Sociology of Sport Journal, retrieved 20 June 2023
  5. 1 2 Barry Gardner (22 May 1988). ""Olympics Stars' Abortion Scandal"". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Dorman, Larry (September 1988). "Creating the perfect athlete". The Rotarian. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "Canadian cagers defeat Mexicans". The Gazette. Montreal, Que. 23 May 1988. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  8. 1 2 Greer, Germaine (May 6, 2007). "It's time for the pregnant Olympics". Guardian.com . Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  9. ↑ Ormsby, Mary (20 June 1988). "Push is on to rid sport of drugs". Toronto Star. ProQuest   435741062 . Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "Olga Karasyova". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  11. ↑ "Olga Karasyova". International Olympic Committee . Archived from the original on 9 June 2021.
  12. ↑ Golubev, Vladimir (March 7, 2001). "Олимпийская чемпионка разоблачает двойника". Viperson (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2018-04-03. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  13. ↑ "Олимпийская чемпионка разоблачает двойника". Viperson.ru (in Russian). 7 March 2001. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020.
  14. ↑ ""СПИД-Инфо" подзалетел". Kommersant (in Russian). 10 December 1998. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021.
  15. ↑ Oliver, Brian (15 November 2015). "Sports cheats have been at it for years: it's always about greed and politics". Guardian.com . Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  16. ↑ Mikkleson, Barbara (September 8, 2007). "Abortion Doping". Snopes.com . Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  17. ↑ "2021 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods". World Anti-Doping Agency . Retrieved 20 October 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.