Objective: There have
been debates about the linkages between abortion and mental health. Few
reviews have considered the extent to
which abortion has therapeutic benefits that
mitigate the mental health risks of abortion. The aim of this review was
to conduct
a re-appraisal of the evidence to examine the
research hypothesis that abortion reduces rates of mental health
problems in
women having unwanted or unintended pregnancy.

Methods: Analysis of recent reviews (Coleman, 2011; National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2011) identified eight publications
reporting 14 adjusted odds ratios (AORs) spanning five outcome domains: anxiety; depression;
alcohol misuse; illicit drug
use/misuse; and suicidal behaviour. For each
outcome, pooled AORs were estimated using a random-effects model.

Results: There was consistent evidence to show that abortion was not associated with a reduction in rates of mental health problems
(p>0.75). Abortion was associated with small to moderate increases in risks of anxiety (AOR 1.28, 95% CI 0.97−1.70; p<0.08), alcohol misuse (AOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.05−5.21; p<0.05), illicit drug use/misuse (AOR 3.91, 95% CI 1.13−13.55; p<0.05), and suicidal behaviour (AOR 1.69, 95% CI 1.12−2.54; p<0.01).

Conclusions: There is
no available evidence to suggest that abortion has therapeutic effects
in reducing the mental health risks of unwanted
or unintended pregnancy. There is suggestive
evidence that abortion may be associated with small to moderate
increases in
risks of some mental health problems.

check it out here: http://anp.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/04/02/0004867413484597.short

(Researcher David Ferguson is a pro choice athestist)