For decades, the medical establishment has maintained that there are no mental health risks for women after abortion. That is changing. Read about it here.

Several studies, including research published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2006, concluded that abortion in young women might be associated with risks of mental health problems…

I know the American Psychological Association is also reviewing their position statement on women’s mental health following abortion. The new statement has not yet been released, but the very fact that they took down the old one saying abortion has no negative mental health effects means they know about the growing body of credible evidence showing quite the opposite. (Those studies show increased risks of suicide, suicide ideation, depressive episodes, hospitalization for depression and even things like increased drug use and engaging in risky sexual activity.)

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Andrea emphasizes: This is not yet another study coming out showing negative mental health affects for women the result of abortion. This announcement from the United Kingdom shows a body of doctors paying heed to the existing research.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health…

That’s why this announcement is so big. Because the studies showing poor outcomes have existed for a while, it’s just no one listened to them. That’s what’s changing.

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Tanya adds: It is big, I agree. The question is what took them so long. After all, a the British Medical Journal reported this in 2002 , and in 1996, a Finnish study concluded an “increased risk of suicide after an induced abortion.”

Then there’s the New Zealand study which reported in 2006 that “Young women who have had an abortion may be at increased risk of developing mental health problems.” Yet 98.9 percent of abortions granted in New Zealand are “done on ‘mental health’ grounds.” Why did it take so long for women to get informed consent?