Comparison of Health, Development, Maternal Bonding, and Poverty Among Children Born After Denial of Abortion vs After Pregnancies Subsequent to an Abortion

Abstract

Over the past 3 decades, debate about abortion has focused on the potential harm that abortion might cause women. Scientific evidence shows that most women’s emotional and mental health are not negatively affected by having an abortion, while some research shows short-term harm to mental health from being denied a wanted abortion.^1-6 Largely absent from the debate are concerns about the effects of receipt and denial of abortion on children, including women’s existing children at the time that they are seeking an abortion, children born as a result of abortion denial, and children that may be born in the future.