Recent published studies show an increased incidence of depression among women who have had abortions.

In a study of 1,884 women whose first pregnancies were aborted between 1980 and 1992, published in Medical Science Monitor, researchers found that the women were 65 percent more likely to be at high risk of clinical depression an average of eight years after their abortion.

Dr. David Reardon, a study author and head of the Elliot Institute in Springfield, IL, said “This finding contributes to the growing number of studies showing that abortion is linked to elevated rates of psychiatric illness, substance abuse and suicidal behavior.” Dr. Reardon said this study was particularly significant since previous studies were done with smaller sample sizes and did not take account of the woman’s emotional health prior to the pregnancy (which was done in this study).

Dr. Reardon was also the lead author of another study reported in the Canadian Medical Journal which showed that women who had abortions were 160 percent more likely than women who had babies to be hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in the first 90 days following their abortion or delivery. That study involved a review of the medical records of 56,741 California Medicaid patients. Dr. Reardon reports that participants in post-abortion recovery programs often complain that therapists dismiss abortion as irrelevant when they bring up the issue of their previous abortions. He believes such therapists are doing a great disservice to women.

Published in VSHL Lifesaver, June 2002