Abortion Does Not Affect Mental Health

Researchers reveal that having an abortion does not pole any long-term negative mental health effects.

Abortion has been and will probably continue to be one of the most controversial issues in the United States. Researchers have completed a new study which reveals that the process does not lead to any mental health issues for the woman. However, denying access to such a service is detrimental to the mental health of women.

The supposed negative mental health effects of undergoing an abortion have long been used as an argument against the procedure, which may have affected the decision some women have taken. However, in this regard, there were some shortcomings regarding the data of previous studies.

As such, a team of researchers from the University of California in San Francisco, led by social psychologist Dr. Antonia Biggs, have devised a study meant to improve on those shortcomings and finally clarify the impact of abortion on the mental health of patients.

For their study, the researchers recruit around 1,000 women from 30 different abortion facilities found in 21 states. The participants had an average age of around 25-years old, and were examined for a period of five-years after either undergoing the abortion procedure or after they were refused treatment. The team of researchers proceeded with the study by interviewing each woman one week after they sought an abortion as well as every six months after that for up to five years.

After they compiled the data, the researchers revealed that 452 women were under two weeks of some facilities gestational limit, and 273 got an abortion within their first trimester of pregnancy. However, 231 participants did not receive an abortion as they were three weeks past a facility’s abortion limit, as it was revealed in the first interview. Among those denied an abortion, researchers found that 161 had given birth, while the rest either suffered miscarriages or had an abortion somewhere else.

The study, which was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, revealed that all the women who either received or were denied an abortion had similar levels of depression in the first week. However, only those who were denied had a higher reported level of anxiety and a lower life satisfaction and self-esteem compared to those who received the procedure.

Nonetheless, after six months, the mental health of both groups of women was very similar, without any long-term negative effects.

Image source: Wikimedia

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Nancy Young

When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.