Abortion raises depression risk, say NZ researchers
04.01.06
By Greg Tourelle

Young women who have had an abortion may be at increased risk of developing mental health problems, a Christchurch study suggests.

The study, the largest of its type internationally, poses challenges to the grounds on which abortions are granted in New Zealand and some other countries.

The leader of the Canterbury Health and Development study, David Fergusson, said his researchers had followed the progress of 1265 children born in Christchurch in mid-1977 from infancy to adulthood.

Its latest research found 41 per cent of the women studied had become pregnant by age 25, and 14.6 per cent of the women studied had had an abortion. By the age of 25, the study found, 42 per cent of those who had had an abortion had also experienced major depression during the previous four years. Story