Making Sense of Medicine

This meta-analysis shows that women are more likely to be troubled after an abortion than are women who have not had an abortion.

In fact, women with an abortion history have an 81 percent increased risk for mental health problems. The studies break down the various types of mental health problems:

·      Anxiety disorders – 34 percent increased risk.

·      Depression – 37 percent increased risk

·      Alcohol abuse – 110 percent increased risk

·      Marijuana use – 220 percent increased risk

·      Suicide attempt – 155 percent increased risk

And what about comparing not just women “with” and “without” history of abortion? That is, what about comparing women with an abortion history with women who carried an unintended pregnancy to term? When this meta-analysis looked at those two groups of women, the women who chose abortion had a 55 percent increased risk of mental health problems.

Talking about abortion is so politicized in America, it’s hard for people from different perspectives to have a rational conversation. Yet for those of us who care about women’s long-term mental health, studies like these are invaluable.

The author of the meta-analysis, Priscilla Coleman, PhD, who is a professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, concludes, “There are, in fact, some real risks associated with abortion that should be shared with women as they are counseled prior to an abortion.”