Women whose first pregnancies ended in abortion are 65 percent more likely to experience clinical depression than women who give birth, according to a new study.
"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," said Dr. David Reardon, head of the Elliot Institute in Springfield, Ill., and one of the study's authors.
The nationally representative study of 1,884 women was published in the latest issue of Medical Science Monitor.
Reardon said this study is significant because previous research on depression rates following abortion have been of limited value due to small sample sizes and lack of information about the women's emotional state prior to pregnancy.
...