PSYCHOLOGICAL SEQUELAE OF INDUCED ABORTION

This article reviews the scientific literature on the psychological sequelae of induced abortion. The methodology and results of studies carried out over the last twenty-two years are examined critically. The unanimous consensus is that abortion does not cause deleterious psychological effects. Women most likely to show subsequent problems are those who were pressured into the operation against their own wishes, either by relatives or because their preg-nancy had medical or foetal contraindications. Legislation which restricts abortion causes problems for women with unwanted pregnancies and their doctors. It is also unjust, as it adversely most affects lower socio-economic class women. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 1989; 23555-565 Abortion remains a highly controversial subject, despite the detailed community discussion which oc-curred during the liberalisation of abortion legislation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Induced abortion has a longer history than written record and in past eras was often conducted in circumstances dangerous to maternal health [ 11. Safe modem techniques have been seen as one reason behind the trend to liberal abortion legislation [2]. Concern about world over-population and the contemporary emphasis on human rights have also played a part [2]. Abortion may be intrinsically controversial; it raises questions involving deeply held religious, political, social and philosophical values, about which people have strongly entrenched views. At times, even the scientific literature takes on the quality of a debate [3]. On the other hand, delay in accepting new safe abortion techniques may explain community dissension. If this latter is true, the ethical and political debates may be expected to quieten some