New research from ANSIRH’s Turnaway Study found no evidence that women who have abortions are at higher risk of developing symptoms of suicidal ideation than women denied abortions. Women who sought abortion at later gestational ages were at no higher risk of having suicidal thoughts post-abortion seeking than those who sought abortion earlier in pregnancy.
We found that having a history of mental health conditions, and intimate partner violence increased women’s risk of experiencing symptoms of suicidal ideation, not having an abortion.
To learn more about the study, “Five-year suicidal ideation trajectories among women receiving versus being denied an abortion,” at the American Journal of Psychiatry website.
For more results from the Turnaway Study on the mental health impact of abortion, see our issue brief “The mental health impact of receiving vs. being denied a wanted abortion,” or in Spanish "El impacto en la salud mental de recibir vs ser denegada de un aborto deseado."
Request a pdf of the publication.