Abortion bans may be fueling a ‘concerning increase’ in suicidal thoughts among teen girls

A new study in JAMA Psychiatry finds a troubling link between abortion bans and mental health among teenage girls. Researchers examined federal survey data from fifteen states between twenty seventeen and twenty twenty-three, comparing five states that enacted near-total abortion bans to ten that didn't. Girls in ban states saw suicidal ideation rise, while it fell in states without bans, a gap of four point three percentage points, according to The 19th. The study found no similar pattern among boys, and while it also hinted at a possible link to suicide attempts among girls, that result wasn't statistically significant. Researchers say the findings suggest abortion restrictions' health effects extend well beyond abortion access itself, touching a broader population of adolescent girls.

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