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Editorial
August 2018

More Evidence That Abortion Is Not Associated With Increased Risk of Mental Illness

Author Affiliations
  • 1Rush University, Chicago, Illinois
  • 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
JAMA Psychiatry. 2018;75(8):775-776. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.0838

As of 2017, nearly one-third of women in the United States will have an induced abortion by the age of 45 years.1 Despite decades of studies showing that abortion does not cause mental illness, misinformation abounds. Women with psychiatric disorders are differentially vulnerable to conceiving pregnancies they do not intend or that occur at times when they do not consider themselves able to provide adequate parenting. Thus clinicians can expect to encounter many patients who have had abortions and some facing decisions about current pregnancies. Students, trainees, and policy makers need accurate information as well.

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