Suicide Linked To Abortion

Dear Visitor,

Many believe that since induced abortion "relieves high stress in a woman's life", induced abortion would likely reduce suicide risk. The actual reality was was reported on December 7, 1996 in the very prestigious British Medical Journal.

Women who "terminated" a pregnancy had nearly a 500 percent greater suicide risk in the twelve months after compared to women who carried to term.

Finnish Study of Suicide Risk and Induced Abortion

[Abstract:]

Suicides after pregnancy in Finland, 1987-1994: register linkage study Mika Gissler, Elina Hemminki, Jouko Lonnqvist; British Medical Journal, 1996;313: 1431-1434

[Results from the abstract section]

Results - There were 73 suicides associated with pregnancy, representing 5.4% of all suicides in women in this age group [15-49 years]. The mean annual suicide rate was 11.3 per 100 000. The suicide rate associated with birth was significantly lower (5.9) and the rates associated with miscarriage (18.1) and induced abortion (34.7) were significantly higher than in the population. The risk associated with birth was higher among teenagers and that associated with abortion was increased in all age groups. Women who had committed a suicide tended to come from lower social classes and were more likely to be unmarried than other women who had had a completed pregnancy.

Conclusions - The increased risk of suicide after an induced abortion indicates either common risk factors for both or harmful affects of induced abortion on mental health.