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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Does research conclusively show that having an abortion increases risk to a woman's mental health?

By Claudine Ng
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NO

According to a 2018 literature review, abortion is continuously associated with "elevated rates of mental illness." But it's impossible to determine whether an abortion (rather than other factors like poverty or intimate-partner violence) directly caused a given mental-health disorder.

A 2008 meta-analysis conducted by the American Psychological Association "reviewed no evidence sufficient to support the claim that an observed association between abortion history and mental health was caused by the abortion per se, as opposed to other factors."

A 2011 meta-analysis from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges found women with unwanted pregnancies experienced similar mental-health distress whether they had an abortion or gave birth.

One study showed women denied abortion procedures had higher levels of anxiety and lower self-esteem than women who had abortions.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
National Library of Medicine: SAGE Open Medicine—The abortion and mental health controversy, a comprehensive literature review
American Psychological Association: Report of the APA Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges: Induced abortion and mental health
JAMA Psychiatry: Women's mental health and well-being five years after receiving or being denied an abortion
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.