Abortion and Mental Health

Up to 10% of mental health problems among women may be affected by a history of abortion, according to a new review published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in their  British Journal of Psychiatry.

 

Publication of this new review, which included 877,181 women from six countries, has reawakened accusations that the American Psychological Associations Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion deliberately understated abortion’s mental health risks for ideological reasons.

The findings of the new review appear to contradict the conclusions published by the task force in 2008, which stated that a "single abortion" of an "unwanted" pregnancy for an "adult" woman did not "in and of itself" pose significant mental health risks.

According to an expert in the field, Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, that carefully nuanced conclusion was designed to obscure rather than clarify the risks of abortion.  "If you pay close attention you will find reluctant admissions that certain subgroups of women are at higher risk."

For example, the APA review admits that multiple abortions may be problematic. But it then fails to mention that fully half of all abortions are second, third or fourth abortions.

Similarly, Reardon notes that the APA recognizes that abortions of wanted pregnancies, and cases where women feel pressured to abort by other people, are also clearly problematic. But these cases may account for 30% to 65% of all abortions. Abortions for minors are also known to be associated with elevated suicide rates.


The meta-analysis in this publication revealed that women with a history of abortion face higher rates of anxiety (34% higher) and depression (37% higher), heavier alcohol use (110% higher) and marijuana use (230% higher), and higher rates of suicidal behavior (155% higher).

The study also found that women who delivered an unplanned pregnancy were significantly less likely to have mental health problems than similar women who aborted unplanned pregnancies.  Women with a history of abortion were 55% more likely to have mental health problems than women who did not abort an unplanned pregnancy.

Talk to your pregnant daughter about these statistics.  If your pregnant daughter is a minor, and/or people are pressuring her to abort her child, she may be facing mental health consequences after the abortion.  With your pregnant daughter, learn more about the psychological impact of abortion.


You may find it helpful to read the chapters “Trying to Hide” and "Where is God in all of this?" in our book “How To Survive Your Teen’s Pregnancy“.


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