Women Who Are Denied Abortions May Face Long-Lasting Health Problems, Study Says

When a woman is denied access to an abortion, research has shown that she may face threats to her mental or financial well-being. A new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests her physical health may suffer, too. “There’s a good deal of research that shows, in the short term, having an abortion is much safer than childbirth, but there isn’t much research over the long-term,” says study co-author Lauren Ralph, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. “Our study demonstrates that having an abortion is not detrimental to women’s health, but being denied access to a wanted one likely is.” The researchers found that women who were denied abortions were more likely than those who had them to report chronic diseases, persistent pain and poor overall health five years later. The study was funded by several foundations that support pro-choice work, including the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, but these groups were not involved in data analysis. The project tracked the self-reported physical health of about 900 women who sought abortions at U.S. clinics between 2008 and 2010. The researchers purposely looked for women who were close to or slightly beyond the gestational limit for performing abortions (which differs by region in the U.S.) so they coul...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized abortion embargoed study onetime Research Source Type: news