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The subject of this article is controversial and content may be in dispute. When updating the article, be bold, but not reckless. Feel free to try to improve the article, but don't take it personally if your changes are reversed; instead, come here to the talk page to discuss them. Content must be written from a neutral point of view. Include citations when adding content and consider tagging or removing unsourced information.

view · edit Frequently asked questions Should we add or expand coverage of a particular aspect of abortion? It is likely that we have already done so. There was so much information on abortion that we decided to split it all into separate articles. This article is concise because we've tried to create an overview of the entire topic here by summarizing many of these more-detailed articles. The goal is to give readers the ability to pick the level of detail that best suits their needs. If you're looking for more detail, check out some of the other articles related to abortion. This article seems to be on the long side. Should we shorten it? See above. The guidelines on article length contain exceptions for articles which act as "starting points" for "broad subjects." Please see the archived discussion "Article Length." Should we include expert medical or legal advice about abortions? No. Misplaced Pages does not give legal or medical advice. Please see Misplaced Pages:Medical disclaimer and Misplaced Pages:Legal disclaimer for more information. Should we include or link to pictures of fetuses and/or the end products of abortion? No consensus. See the huge discussion on this topic in 2009 here. Consistently, there has been little support for graphic "shock images"; while images were added in 2009 the topic remains contentious, and some images have been removed. Should we include an image in the lead? No consensus. Numerous images have been proposed for the article lead. However, no image achieved consensus and the proposal that garnered a majority of support is to explicitly have no image in the lead. Should we mention the "death of the zygote/embryo/fetus/child/etc." ? No - It is not mentioned because it is well known and understood by everyone that this happens. To explicitly mention it is POV of anti-abortionists. No one believes that in an abortion procedure the embryo will be transplanted to another woman's uterus or transferred to an artificial placenta so that it can then gestate to term and be birthed. Are the terms "safe" and "safety" used correctly in this article? Yes - please see this RfC on the topic.

	Abortion was one of the Natural sciences good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
Article milestones Date Process Result December 26, 2006 Good article nominee Listed January 14, 2008 Good article reassessment Delisted
Current status: Delisted good article

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Abortion's effect on crime rates not sourced

This appears early in the article: "Aspects of this debate can include the public health impact of unsafe or illegal abortion as well as legal abortion's effect upon crime rates..." When I read this I became curious about exactly what effect legal abortion has on crime rates, but no links or sources are provided, leaving my curiosity unsatiated. Not very encyclopedic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.159.18.237 (talk) 21:57, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

I found the subsection later, but a link to that subsection (or better yet, its article) would be convenient.

Also, I thought the last sentence in that subsection was out of place. "Such research has been criticized by some as being utilitarian, discriminatory as to race and socioeconomic class, and as promoting eugenics as a solution to crime. Levitt states in his book Freakonomics that they are neither promoting nor negating any course of action — merely reporting data as economists.

Researchers have observed changes in heart rates and hormonal levels of newborn infants after circumcision, blood tests, and surgery — effects which were alleviated with the administration of anesthesia. Others suggest that the human experience of pain, being more than just physiological, cannot be measured in such reflexive responses."

It goes from economics, data, and studies right into fetal pain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.159.18.237 (talk) 22:11, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Needing Sources/References

I would be interested in creating the following articles: Abortion in China, Abortion in Japan, Abortion in Indonesia, Abortion in Singapore, and Abortion in Thailand. However, I need sources/references. If somebody could list some references or sources for me to use for the articles, I would gladly create the articles. Thanks! --Grrrlriot (talk) 17:48, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Abortion Mental Health - More Balanced Revision

Below is what I would suggest as a more balanced summary of the controversy over abortion and mental health. Due to the controversial nature of this issue, you will see that I put in multiple, independent peer reviewed sources for all of the negative effects which have been shown to be associated with abortion. The multiple sources could be included in single footnote to clean up the text.

If anyone wants to help refine it, I created a draft page here. In the meantime, I'm putting an unbalanced tag on the section in the article.

Abortion and Mental Health

The issue of abortion and mental health is very controversial. In 1989, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop reported that no definitive conclusions could be made regarding either the positive or negative mental health effects related to abortion because all available research at that time was too methodlogically flawed. A year later, a team of psycholgists with the American Psychological Association published their own review of the literature. They concluded that the "The weight of the evidence does not pose a psychological hazard for most women" but also noted that "case studies have established that some women experience severe distress or psychopathology after abortion." They also noted that certain groups of women were at higher risk of experiencing negative reactions, including: "women who are terminating pregnancies that are wanted and personally meaningful, who lack support from their partner or parents for the abortion, or who have more conflicting feelings or are less sure of their decision before hand."

In a 1992 review of research on abortion and mental health lead editor concluded that "here is now virtually no disagreement among researchers that some women experience negative psychological reactions postabortion," and that the issues of disagreement are centered on (1) how prevelant negative reactions are, (2) the severity of negative reactios, (3) determination of what level of negative reactions consitutes a public or mental health problem, and (4) how severe reactions should be classified.

In the subsequent ten years, case-control studies have found that abortion is associated with higher rates of psychiatric treatment anxiety, depression,alcohol use,, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug use,, increased requests for medical treatement and worsening of general health, suicidal thoughts completed suicides, and child maltreatment.

Self-esteem scores are not significantly affected by abortion. Students who abort an unintended pregnancy are significantly more likely to complete high school than similar classmates who choose to give birth.

It is has not been conclusively shown if the mental health problems staistically associated with abortion are directly caused by the abortion itself, by experiences associated with the unintended pregnancy, or if the abortion related experiences may only serve to aggravate, trigger, or in some manner contribute to pre-existing mental health problems. An alternative explanation is that the statistical associations between abortion and psychiatric illnesses are entirely incidental. Along these lines it has been proposed that women who already have mental problems are more likely to have unwanted pregnancies ending in abortion.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Post-abortion counseling programs are offered by a wide number of peer support groups and professional counseling services. Many programs reflect a pro-choice perspective which attempt to help women deal with negative reactions while validating the choice to abort. Others reflect a pro-life perspective which includes an element of repentance for the abortion choice.

The controversy over abortion and mental health is fueled by the potential effects this issue may have on the political and judicial debate over abortion. In it's most recent ruling on abortion, Gonzales v Carhart the majority opinion indicated that abortion was "fraught with emotional consequences." The minority opinion, however, while acknowleding that "for most women, abortion is a painfully difficult decision" insisted there is no reliable evidence that women who regret their abortions suffer from "evere depression and loss of esteem."

1. Koop's Stand on Abortion's Effect Surprises Friends and Foes Alike THE NEW YORK TIMES January 11, 1989
2. Adler NE, David HP, Major BN, Roth SH, Russo NF, Wyatt GE. Psychological responses after abortion. Science, April 1990, 248: 41-44.
3. Wilmoth G. Abortion, Public Health Policy, and Informed Consent Legislation. J Social Issues. 48(3):1-17 (1992).
4. ^ Reardon DC, et al, Psychiatric admissions of low income women following abortion and childbirth. CMAJ 168:1253-6, 2003.
5. Coleman PK, et al. State-funded abortions vs. deliveries: A comparison of outpatient mental health claims over five years. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2002, Vol. 72, No. 1, 141-152.
6. ^ Berkeley D, Humphrey PL, Davidson C, Demands made on general practice by women before and after an abortion. JR Coll Gen Pract. 34:310-315, 1984.
7. Badgley, et.al.,Report of the Committee on the Operation of the Abortion Law (Ottawa:Supply and Services, 1977)pp.313-321.
8. ^ Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ, Ridder EM, Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 47:16-25, 2006.
9. Cougle JR, Reardon DC, Coleman PK. Generalized anxiety following unintended pregnancies resolved through childbirth and abortion: a cohort study of the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. J Anxiety Disord. 2005;19(1):137-42.
10. Ellen W. Freeman et al., Emotional Distress Patterns Among Women Having First or Repeat Abortions, 55 Obstetrics & gynecology 630 (1980)
11. Cougle JR, Reardon DC, Coleman PK. Depression associated with abortion and childbirth: a long-term analysis of the NLSY cohort. Med Sci Monit. 2003 Apr;9(4):CR105-12.
12. Drower SA, Nash ES, Therapeutic abortion on psychiatric grounds. S. Afr Med J 54:604-8, 1978.
13. Reardon DC, Ney PG, Abortion and subsequent substance abuse. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 26:61-75, 2000.
14. ^ Priscilla K. Coleman et al., History of Induced Abortion in Relation to Substance Use During Pregnancies Carried to Term, 187 Am. J. Obstetrics & Gynecology 1673 (2002);
15. Elizabeth R. Morrissey & Marc A. Schuckit, Stressful Life Events and Alcohol Problems Among Women Seen At a Detoxication Center, 39 J. Stud. Alcohol 1559, 1567, 1570 (1978);
16. Major B, Cozzarelli C, Cooper ML, Zubek J, Richards C, Wilhite M, Gramzow RH. Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000 Aug;57(8):777-84.
17. Suliman S, Ericksen T, Labuschgne P, de Wit R, Stein DJ, Seedat S (2007). "Comparison of pain, cortisol levels, and psychological distress in women undergoing surgical termination of pregnancy under local anaesthesia versus intravenous sedation". BMC Psychiatry 7: 24.
18. Rue VM, Coleman PK, Rue JJ, Reardon DC. Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women.Med Sci Monit, 2004 10(10): SR5-16.
19. Reardon DC, Coleman PK, Cougle JR. Substance use associated with unintended pregnancy outcomes in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Am. J. Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 2004; 26(1):369 - 383.
20. Ney PG, Fung T, Wickett AR, Beaman-Dodd, Effects of pregnancy loss on women's health. Soc Sci Med 38: 1193-1200, 1994.
21. Truls Ostbye et al., Health Services Utilization After Induced Abortions In Ontario: A Comparison Between Community Clinics and Hospitals, 16 Am. J. Med. Quality 99 (2001).
22. Warren B. Miller et al., Testing a Model of the Psychological Consequences of Abortion, in The new civil war: the psychology, culture, and politics of abortion. 235, 244 (Linda J. Beckman & S. Marie Harvey eds., 1998).
23. Christopher Morgan et al., Suicides After Pregnancy: Mental Health May Deteriorate as a Direct Effect of Induced Abortion, 314 BRIT. MED. J. 902 (1997).
24. Gissler M, Hemminski E, Longuist J, Suicides after pregnancy in Finland. BMJ 313:1431-34, 1996.
25. Reardon DC, Ney PG, et al, Deaths associated pregnancy outcome; a record linkage study. Southern Med J. 96:834-41, 2002.
26. Coleman PK et al, Associations between voluntary and involuntary forms of perinatal loss and child maltreatment among low income mothers. Acta Peadiatr 94:1476-83, 2005.
27. Ney PG, Fung T, Wickett AR, Relationship between induced abortion and child abuse and neglect: four studies. Pre and Perinatal Psychology J 8:43-63, 1993.
28. The quality of caregiving environment and child development outcomes associated with maternal history of abortion using the NLSY data. J Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2002; 43(6):743-57. Coleman PK, Reardon DC, Cougle JR.
29. M. Benedict, R. White, and P. Comely. Maternal Perinatal Risk Factors and Child Abuse, Child Abuse and Neglect, 9:217-224(1985).
30. Russo NF, Zierk KL. Abortion, childbearing, and women's wellbeing. Professional Psychol Res Pract. 1992;23:269-280.
31. Fergusson DM, Boden JM, Horwood LJ. Abortion among young women and subsequent life outcomes. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2007 Mar;39(1):6-12.
32. Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?, by Emily Bazelon. Published in the New York Times Magazine on January 21, 2007;
33. Gonzales v Carhart. 2006

Please see abortion and mental health page regarding Strider

Strider has been working on a revision of the abortion and mental health page on his/her user page to circumvent the bothersome task of building consensus and acknowledging POV on both the abortion and mental health and David Reardon pages. Please see the talk page of the "Abortion and Mental Health" article for more information on this, and also note this conversation.--IronAngelAlice (talk) 22:58, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

As I said above, I was highly concerned about creating a disparity between the summary section and the main article. Specifically, it is inappropriate to have content here that isn't in the main article. There is nothing mentioned of "counseling" in the main article, nor about the SCOTUS case Gonzales v. Carhart, so the last two paragraphs need to go. Also, the Wilmoth info is nowhere to be found in the main article. High school isn't mentioned anywhere. I could go on... I want to emphasize that it is not acceptable to have so much content in a summary section that is not mentioned, let alone explained in fuller detail in the main parent article. How about this as a compromise. I propose: to replace the current summary section with the lead from the current Abortion and mental health. And once there are stable changes that are made to that lead, we can always update the summary section here. That way we make sure that the content here is actually at the main article, and we avoid bypassing consensus on the main parent article.-Andrew c  23:22, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Agreed.--IronAngelAlice (talk) 23:42, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

The lead from the "main" artice on Abortion and Mental Health is totally inaccurate and biased. Reliable sources, such as the Wilmoth summary, have been consistently deleted by POV pushing editors. I'm all for including this material in the "main article," but IronAngel, MastCell, and MarginRed continue to disrupt the addition of any material that does not agree with their four preferred sources. Over the last six months the PAS / Abortion Mental Health has been, to use the words employed by the editors advocating it, "purged" of over 22 references to peer reviewed studies which document the links between abortion and mental health problems. The current distorted summary from the "main article" should not replicate or spread inaccuracies.--Strider12 (talk) 16:53, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

((Broken Record - again)) Strider has been working on a revision of the abortion and mental health page on his/her user page to circumvent the bothersome task of building consensus and acknowledging POV on both the abortion and mental health and David Reardon pages. Please see the talk page of the "Abortion and Mental Health" article for more information on this, and also note this conversation.----IronAngelAlice (talk) 20:20, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Strider, please consider the dispute resolution options. You may just need a RfC for more eyes on the subject, or perhaps things need to go to mediation. However, I strongly feel that we need content to be consistent across wikipedia. You can't move on to another article and try to insert content which was rejected at another forum. Who is to say that they won't simply follow you here and prevent that content from showing up here (looks like IAA is involved already). Please don't bring conflict here, but instead try to settle all disputes at the parent article first. And keep in mind your dispute resolution options. I'd be glad to discuss this further on my talk page, but I don't want to fill up more space here discussing issues you may be having with other editors on other articles. Thanks.-Andrew c  01:35, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

I understand your interest in consistency. But that is also a reason to tag both the main article and the summary in this overview. The main article has become totally unbalanced following the relentless purging of all peer reviewed articles and citations to experts, even pro-choice experts, whose opinions do not conform with the "deniers" POV. Literally scores of reliable peer reviewed sources I have added have also been relentlessly deleted for violating the WEIGHT which MastCell insists must define the article. Due to a policy of aggressive reverts, all editors critical of abortion, except myself. I'm not familiar with the mediation or arbitration process. But clearly it can be seen that the summary material in the article is totally out of line with the summary material and sources I have been TRYING to include. Perhaps you can recommend a pro-life oriented editor who has worked well on the abortion articles to mediate. Or have pro-lifers generally been driven out of all these pages?--Strider12 (talk) 04:44, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure of individual editor's political positions. The best bet is to go for a RfC to draw in users who typically don't edit this subject matter, or likewise go for mediation (and ask for mediators who have edited abortion related topics to recuse themselves). Just read up on the WP:DR page to see and weigh your options. -Andrew c  04:50, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

FAQ

The FAQ at the top of this talk page has info about images. Several prior discussions are linked, regarding so-called "shock" images. So, I think it is pretty well-established that there has been a consensus not to include any images here of aborted fetuses, or to even include any links to where an interested person can find such images. However, those linked discussions contain little (if any) discussion about whether it would be appropriate for the present article to include an image of an intact fetus before it is aborted. I clarified this point in the FAQ, and was reverted. Maybe such an image will someday be included in this article, and maybe not, but the linked prior discussions have not settled the point.Ferrylodge (talk) 01:58, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Is there a particular image you have in mind? Personally, I think the appropriate place for intact fetuses is over at fetus or pregnancy both of which are linked to from here. --Phyesalis (talk) 05:21, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

I wasn't looking to get this argument going right now, but rather just wanted to straighten out the FAQ. As I mentioned previously at this talk page, Susan Faludi, in her book "The Undeclared War Against American Women" (1991) said: "The antiabortion iconography in the last decade featured the fetus but never the mother." In contrast, the present article now features iconography of the mother but not of the fetus, and I think this situation needs some balancing. Probably the best way to do it would be to calculate the average gestation at which women get abortions, and include an image shortly before and shortly after that point, simply to illustrate what it is that's being aborted.Ferrylodge (talk) 05:41, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Ferrylodge, didn't we have this exact conversation already? I recall you making the exact same argument not long ago. We also had this discussion on the Fetus page where the images already exist. There is no need to also post them here in order to make a political statement. The fetus page gives us more of an opportunity to qualify the images. For example, while we show an 8 week old fetus that has the beginnings of eyes and feet, we can also inform the reader that a fetus doesn't feel pain, can't control motor function, is not sentient, etc. We also talk about the length of the fetus at 8 weeks (30 mm or 1.2 inches). In short, there is absolutely no need to duplicate the fetus images here. Fetus images here make a political statement, not a medical one.--IronAngelAlice (talk) 02:13, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

IAA, I am not interested in pursuing this subject with you now. I merely corrected the FAQ to reflect that this issue has not yet been definitively settled. Frankly, though you frequently accuse others of bias and politicization, I have never encourntered any editor at the abortion-related articles who is more biased and politicized than yourself, but I simply don't have sufficient time to deal with it right now.Ferrylodge (talk) 02:26, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

So sorry Ferrylodge. I completely jumped the gun in a rush to celebrate Valentine's day.--IronAngelAlice (talk) 17:48, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Just a note for anyone who cares: I was recently reverted here by an editor, whom I subsequently contacted here about the FAQ.Ferrylodge (talk) 22:56, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Abortion Counseling

In List of counseling topics there is an entry for Abortion counseling that is red-lined. Was there an article? Should there be an article, or appropriate text here? Simesa (talk) 16:21, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

See Pregnancy options counseling.-Andrew c  04:44, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, you're correct that is the best article name. However, it doesn't appear anywhere in the Abortion article. How should we put it in? Simesa (talk) 22:29, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

I suggest that under == Health considerations == we add the simple section:

=== Abortion counseling ===

{{main|Pregnancy options counseling}}

This will inevitably mean a battle and semi-protecting in that article, but I can't see ducking the issue. Simesa (talk) 23:34, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Alternatively, we could make a subheading:

== Abortion alternatives ==

{{main|Pregnancy options counseling}}

My ultimate goal is to somehow lead the reeader to alternatives such as An adoption scholarships foundation. While I take no side in the debate, that such alternatives and opportunities exist is of encyclopedic interest. Simesa (talk) 01:07, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

First of all, wikipedia shouldn't try to lead readers, per WP:NPOV. Second, I'm pretty sure that the external link you suggest wouldn't fit anywhere in this article. That said, I think an internal link to pregnancy options counseling in the see also section would be great, and even if we could come up with some prose to explain the topic a little better (no more than a paragraph I don't think), that could be placed somewhere. Though we have to keep in mind, this being the top tier article, we need to make sure our content is international. I'm only familiar with pregnancy option counseling in the states. I'm not sure of the extent of that sort of counseling in other countries. -Andrew c  02:34, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

I do see your points; yes, the link by itself was significantly spammy even if it's a charitable organization - it was the concept that such options existed that I thought was (in conjunction with other options) encyclopedic. But let's start with the wikilink and let things grow. I'm afraid I'm not adept with prose, but how about, as a first conceptual cut, something like:

== Abortion alternatives ==

The possible alternatives to abortion center basically on four options: keeping the offspring with the mother or a close relative of hers, putting the offsping up for adoption, placing the offspring under state supervision in a setting such as a foster home or an orphanage, or the increasingly rare infanticide. The decision is also increasingly being made by the mother, often with counseling by professionals (see pregnancy options counseling) or with input and/or offers of assistance by charitable organizations or directly from couples seeking to adopt. International adoptions are now also common, although sometimes governmentally discouraged.

I didn't provide any cites for the above text, but I believe the perceptions to be correct and that they could be found. Feel free to rewrite as appropriate. Simesa (talk) 03:36, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

It should be noted that I've suggested additions regarding this to Abortion, Adoption, Crisis pregnancy center and Pregnancy options counseling. It would appear to be germane to all four. How should we approach this? Is a "Main" article called for? Do we have someone competent to write one? Simesa (talk) 11:50, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

On second thought, that last line should be broken out into:

=== International adoptions ===

{{main|International adoption}}

Simesa (talk) 11:33, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

A harmless little experiment

This article was recently edited to say the following:

This is about as biased and misleading a statement as can be, but I will not attempt to correct it. Instead, as a harmless experiment, I'll provide the full quotation from Dr. Koop, with citation, and we'll see if the people who control this article have the slightest interest in providing any neutrality whatsoever. Here's what Koop said before a few of his words were yanked out of context by the people who control this article:

Medical and Psychological Impact of Abortion, Committee on Government Operations, United States Congress, House of Representatives, page 241 (1989). Excerpts available from Google Books here and here.

As I said, I won't try to correct this article now. I'm curious to see whether anyone else will correct it, or whether they prefer it to be grossly misleading and biased in this and so many other ways. And incidentally, the cited sources do not say that Koop used the word "miniscule" in any letter to Pres. Reagan; but, who cares about accuracy, right?Ferrylodge (talk) 22:23, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Ferrylodge, your penchant for the dramatic and over-stated is engaging. I don't see how Koop is misquoted here. He plainly says that from a public health perspective, negative effects of abortion are "miniscule." Koop's charge is public health - not personal health, not the health of any individual family. Please consider the following:

• http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0DF163FF932A15750C0A96F948260
• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_10_36/ai_n6335767/pg_8
• ttp://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12416951.000-reagans-officials-suppressed-research-on-abortion-.html

--IronAngelAlice (talk) 22:59, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Rather than including pro-choice NY Times editorials in this Misplaced Pages article, and misrepresenting what those editorials say because they are not pro-choice enough to satisfy you, perhaps you might instead spend a minute finding out what the job of the Surgeon General is.Ferrylodge (talk) 23:05, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Attention Admins: Would you mind pointing out to IronAngelAlice that the article should not contain unsupported and unverified statements? None of the cited sources say that Koop used the word "miniscule" in any letter to Reagan. And when a speaker clarifies a statement, as Koop did here, it is dishonest to completely exclude the clarification. This little incident is symptomatic of rampant POV editing in the abortion-related articles; I may well be criticized for pointing this out, but such is Misplaced Pages. It appears to be Misplaced Pages policy for admins to look the other way.Ferrylodge (talk) 00:39, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

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