By Elizabeth Sutcliffe | Catholic Speaker | Post-Abortive Advocate | Pro-Life Educator
A groundbreaking new study out of Quebec is shedding light on an issue many of us in the pro-life and post-abortion healing community have long known through experience and testimony: abortion can leave deep and lasting mental health scars.
Published in 2025, this large-scale cohort study followed over 1.2 million pregnancies in Quebec hospitals from 2006 to 2022. The researchers specifically compared women who had an induced abortion to those who carried their pregnancies to birth or stillbirth. What they found is both sobering and validating.
📉 Key Findings at a Glance
- Women who had an abortion were nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized for any mental health condition.
- The risk was even higher for:
- Substance use disorders: 2.5x greater risk
- Suicide attempts: 2.1x greater risk
- Psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety, personality disorders): 1.8x greater risk
- The greatest risk occurred in the first 5 years following an abortion.
- Young women under 25 and those with preexisting mental health struggles were most vulnerable.
- Risks gradually declined over time—but even up to 17 years later, some risks (especially substance use) remained elevated.
🧠 Why Does This Matter?
This study is the largest and longest of its kind in North America, offering 17 years of data and over 11 million person-years of follow-up. Unlike earlier studies limited to short-term outcomes or small sample sizes, this research confirms a consistent and measurable association between abortion and serious mental health struggles—especially when preexisting vulnerabilities are present.
While the study does not claim causation, it reinforces that abortion often intersects with complex emotional, psychological, and social factors, and may intensify existing mental health conditions or trigger new ones.
🧒 Young Women at Higher Risk
Notably, women under 25 who had abortions faced up to 2.75 times the risk of later mental health hospitalizations compared to those who gave birth. This highlights a critical need for better support and screening—especially for young women who may already be facing trauma, isolation, or lack of family stability.
🔄 The Impact of Repeat Abortions and Prior Births
The study also found that women who had previous live births or repeat abortions had higher risks of long-term mental health complications. While the reasons aren’t fully clear, it may reflect the compounded emotional weight of grief, maternal guilt, or unresolved trauma.
🧩 What Can We Do With This Information?
This study offers powerful, data-driven insight that supports what many post-abortive women have bravely shared for years: abortion can hurt. And that pain can last.
But it also offers us a way forward.
Here’s what we can do:
- Advocate for mental health screenings at abortion clinics and hospitals.
- Offer compassionate, nonjudgmental support to women who are post-abortive—especially in the early years after abortion.
- Provide resources for healing: post-abortion counseling, retreats, spiritual support, and community.
- Educate the public, our churches, and young people about the full picture—not just physical outcomes, but emotional and spiritual ones too.
- Empower women with alternatives to abortion that affirm their dignity, their motherhood, and their mental well-being.
🤍 A Word From My Heart
As someone who has walked this road personally, I know the internal scars that abortion can leave. This study doesn’t just speak to data—it speaks to lives. To women like me. To stories like mine. To the thousands of women I’ve spoken to over the years who thought they were alone in their pain.
You are not alone. You are not beyond healing. And your story matters.
📚 Source
Auger, N. et al. (2025). Induced abortion and long-term risk of mental health hospitalization: A 17-year cohort study in Quebec. [Journal info here]
✉️ Let’s Talk
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📬 Email: info@elizabethspeakstruth.com
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Elizabeth Sutcliffe 