In the United States, suicides are the second leading cause of death among women aged 20 to 24 and the third leading cause among women aged 25 to 34. And according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and published on December 28 in the journal JAMA Psychiatryrestrictions onabortion decided on June 24, 2022 by the revocation of the judgment Roe v Wade could have played a role in certain suicides in young women.
“Stress is a key contributor to mental health burden and a major factor in increasing suicide risk“said psychiatrist Ran Barzilay, psychiatrist and co-author of the study, in a communicated. “We found that this particular stressor – abortion restriction – affects women of a specific age in a specific cause of death, which is suicide.”
The researchers focused on the period between 1974 and 2016, when 21 US states enforced at least one restrictive abortion law, including imposing mandates on abortion facilities or requiring them to be located nearby. from a local hospital. THE average annual suicide rate among women of childbearing age was then 5.81% higher compared to previous years, when the laws were not yet applied.
Is this association specific to women in the process of childbearing?
To ascertain the link between restriction on abortion and suicides, the researchers carried out the same analysis for all women aged 45 to 64 over the same period. “They found no effect”continues the press release.
Although the study has several limitations – the researchers notably did not have access to individual data on the experiences or mental health of these women – they speak of a “strong association“confirmed by the data.
The research team hopes to shed light on the (urgent) need for better suicide prevention policies among women of childbearing age as well as adding “concrete data to the ethical debate on access to abortion”. “Women internalizing the stories they hear are the ones these restrictions will affect the most“, concludes Rebecca Waller, who participated in the study.
Source :
- Association Between State-Level Access to Reproductive Care and Suicide Rates Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States, JAMA PsychiatryDecember 28, 2022
