Political science
When medical topics become political it's a risk to our health. Abortion is one such area of research - but there's hope yet
There has been a consensus on abortion and mental health for close to two decades: Abortion does not cause mental health problems, rather, if there is evidence of post-abortive mental stress, the blame can be placed on mental health problems that were already present. In short, if you were already experiencing anxiety - you may well experience the same after an abortion. Case closed.
But in examining the science, it's not clear why this consensus exists. In some cases, small studies and small sample sizess were used to draw big conclusions.1 Many studies were short term, looking for evidence of mental health problems only up to two years after an abortion.2 Perhaps most importantly, this status quo, based on research from around 1990, is now out of date.3 New studies, published in reputable journals, now show evidence of poor mental health outcomes for post-abortive girls and women.4 Still, the old consensus remains. The question is: Does it exist at the expense of women's health?
Download the full report below
