HAVING an abortion as a young woman raises the risk of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, a new study shows.
The findings come from the Christchurch Health and Development Study of 1265 children tracked since birth in the 1970s in New Zealand.
Researchers found 41 per cent of the more than 500 women in the study had become pregnant by age 25 with 90 pregnancies terminated.
At age 25, 42 per cent of those who had an abortion had experienced major depression at some stage during the previous four years - nearly double the rate of those who had never been pregnant. The risk of anxiety disorders was also raised by a similar degree.
Women who also had at least one abortion were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be dependent on illicit drugs.
Leader of the study, David Fergusson, said the results could undermine the legal basis for access to abortion in jurisdictions, including NSW, where termination is legal only if continuing the pregnancy would threaten the woman's physical or mental health. The findings also tip the balance of scientific evidence towards the conclusion that abortion increases psychological distress rather than alleviating it, he said.
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