Major new study highlights potential adverse effects of abortion on women’s mental health
A new Canadian study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research provides statistically significant evidence that abortion can potentially have serious adverse consequences for women’s mental health. It reaches similar findings to other peer reviewed studies carried out in recent years - making the refusal of governments to inform women about these conclusions impossible to defend.
The latest research titled ‘Induced abortion and implications for long-term mental health: a cohort study of 1.2 million pregnancies’, includes the following findings: Mental health hospitalisation rates are higher after abortion than deliveries; risk is elevated for psychiatric disorders, substance use, and suicide attempts; patients with preexisting mental illness or younger than 25 years are most at risk; the risk of mental disorders is greatest within five years of abortion.
It was a very broad-based study that followed 28,721 women who had abortions and 1,228,807 who gave birth in hospitals in Quebec between 2006 and 2022. The authors conclusion was cautious, yet still significant, saying: “While these findings are not evidence of a causal link between abortion and long-term mental health sequelae, they support the possibility that abortion may be a marker of an increased lifetime risk of mental disorders. Screening for mental disorders at the time of abortion may be an opportunity to identify women who could benefit from psychological and social support, particularly women with preexisting mental health disorders, under age 25 years, and with previous live births or abortions.” | 
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