The study was published this summer in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
Newsroom (09/04/2025 12:50 p.m., Gaudium Press) A recent study revealed that the rate of hospitalizations for mental health problems doubled in women who had abortions, compared to those who gave birth.
The study, published this summer in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, compared abortions with other hospitalizations in Quebec, Canada, between 2006 and 2022, tracking data on women for up to 17 years.
The study, which compared more than 1.2 million women who gave birth in Quebec hospitals with more than 28,000 women who had abortions, revealed that hospitalization rates for mental health problems were higher after induced abortions than after other pregnancies.
Abortion was associated with a range of mental health difficulties, including hospitalization for psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts, according to the study.
This association was particularly high in women under the age of 25 at the time of abortion, as well as in patients who already had a mental illness.
The risk of hospitalization for mental health problems peaked in the five years following abortion. The risk gradually decreased after five years, but only after 17 years did it begin.
Tessa Cox, senior research associate at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said the study was “particularly compelling.”
“This recent study conducted in Canada, which has more comprehensive healthcare data than the United States, adds to a growing body of research suggesting that abortion may harm women’s mental health,” Cox said.
“The abortion industry downplays the evidence, so the fact that this new study included more than a million women and considered prior mental health and other related factors makes it particularly compelling,” she told CNA.
“Women deserve to have all the information, and both women and men who have been harmed by abortion need to know that forgiveness and healing are possible,” Cox said.
Another scholar called the study “robust,” noting that it tracked data over a long period and included variables that allowed for greater accuracy of the information.
Michael New, senior research associate at the Charlotte Lozier Institute and adjunct professor of practice at The Catholic University of America, said the study “provides strong statistical evidence that abortion increases the risk of various mental health problems.”
New stated that the study had numerous strengths, such as the large sample size, the way in which the women were followed up over a long period, and how the authors analyzed data from an extended period.
This method was uncommon, according to the study, which noted that “large-scale population studies with long-term follow-up are rare but necessary to understand women’s mental health needs after abortion.”
New called the study’s findings “robust,” noting that this study stands up to criticism that similar studies have received.
The study is one of several that have investigated the correlation between mental health problems and abortion.
“While other research has found that women who have abortions are prone to mental health disorders, critics of these studies argue that women with mental health problems are more likely to have abortions,” New said.
“Most importantly, it remains consistent regardless of whether the women in the study had previously been hospitalized for mental health problems,” he added about the Canadian study.
With information from CNA.
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
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