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abortion

Classification: 1) spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) 2) induced abortion (medical abortion) 3) surgical abortion Epidemiology: - women denied abortion more likely to report headaches, arthritis, & poor overall health than women provided abortion [2] - US Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade [4] - the decision amounts to government intrusion into the pactice of medicine, the physician-patient relationship, & a violation of patients rights to evidence-based reproductive health services - states that end legal abortions, will not end abortion, they will end safe abortion with devastating consequences, including deaths [6] Complications: - abortion does not appear to increase suicide risk [3] - enforcing restrictions on reproductive care linked with ~6% rise in suicide [7] - United States has the highest rate of maternal & infant mortality among developed nations [5] - US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will only worsen this disparity [5] - serious complications are uncommon but more frequent with mifepristone-misoprostol medical abortion than with procedural abortion (3.8 vs 1.8 per 1000 cases) in first trimester abortions [8] Notes: - bans on abortions in the US has led a deterioration of health services for pregnant women, an increase in unwanted births, a proliferation of fake clinics, all putting the lives of women at risk [9]

Related

prostaglandin E2 (PGE2, dinoprostone, Prepidil, Cervidil) unintended pregnancy

Specific

induced abortion; medical abortion surgical abortion

General

clinical procedure

References

  1. Dorland's Medical Dictionary, 23rd ed., WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1990
  2. Ralph LJ et al. Self-reported physical health of women who did and did not terminate pregnancy after seeking abortion services: A cohort study. Ann Intern Med 2019 Jun 11; https://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2735869/self-reported-physical-health-women-who-did-did-terminate-pregnancy
  3. Steinberg JR, Laursen TM, Adler NE et al. The association between first abortion and first-time non-fatal suicide attempt: a longitudinal cohort study of Danish population registries. Lancet Psychiatry. Nov 19, 2019 PMID: 31757590 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(19)30400-6/fulltext - van Ditzhuijzen J Common risk factors for abortion and suicide attempts. Lancet Psychiatry. Nov 19, 2019 PMID: 31757591 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(19)30443-2/fulltext
  4. Ault A Roe v. Wade Overturned, Ending 50 Years of Abortion Protections. Medscape. June 24. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/976061 - D'Ambrosio A It's Official: SCOTUS Strikes Down Roe v. Wade. Opinion ends constitutional protection for abortion, returns rights to the states. MedPage Today June 24, 2022 https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/pregnancy/99423
  5. No authors listed The US Supreme Court is wrong to disregard evidence on the harm of banning abortion. Nature 2022 May;605(7909):193-194. PMID: 35513454 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01249-2
  6. AMA Advocacy Update American Medical Association. June 24, 2022
  7. DePeau-Wilson M Abortion Access Tied to Suicide Rates Among Young Women. Enforcing restrictions on reproductive care linked with nearly 6% rise in suicide rate. MedPage Today December 28, 2022 https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/abortion/102418
  8. Liu N , Ray JG. Short-term adverse outcomes after mifepristone-misoprostol versus procedural induced abortion: A population-based propensity-weighted study. Ann Intern Med 2023 Jan 3; [e-pub] PMID: 36592459 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-2568
  9. Taylor L US abortion bans have led to health harms, discrimination, and unwanted births, reports Amnesty. BMJ 2024;386:q1768 PMID: 39117440 https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj.q1768