Is abortion better for teens than giving birth?

Suzette Gutierrez Cachila Friday, July 22, 2016

An image showing a mother holding her baby. | Wikimedia Commons/Mark Colomb

Teens are better off having abortions than giving birth to their babies, a new study says, but others disagree.

Published on July 7, the study featured in the journal titled Human Reproduction, investigated the health and socioeconomic effects of abortion among teens. According to the study, abortion did not have adverse health effects on the respondents, and it also showed positive progress in terms of socioeconomic status.

"Underage abortion was not found to be associated with mental health problems in early adulthood, and socioeconomic outcomes were better among those who experienced abortion compared with those who gave birth," the study authors wrote.

Oskari Heikinheimo, one of the authors, told Reuters that based on the results, young women who chose to give birth to their babies eventually achieved lower levels of education. This pattern, Heikinheimo said, "certainly makes a lot of sense."

"It would be very important that even for young women who choose to have a child that society do its best to guarantee they have a chance to continue schooling," he recommended, adding that family planning services should be provided for those who need them.

However, a report from Life News emphasized that in the study, those who chose abortion and got better school grades mostly came from wealthier families compared to those who chose to give birth. This could be the reason why they tended to be more successful in school, the report claimed.

Additionally, young women who have abortions are said to be prone to experiencing mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies, according to a 2006 study from New Zealand. The study says that this result is due to the procedure's psychological impact on teens.

The study concluded that abortion increases women's risk of mental health problems.

In a separate paper, one of the authors of the 2006 study wrote that women who go through abortion are 30 percent more likely to experience mental health problems.