• Can a woman die from abortion?

    It is rare for a woman to die directly from complications arising from abortion. However, an important question is whether women are more likely to die from any cause after having an abortion compared with giving birth to a baby.

    In 2017 researchers found that “women experiencing a pregnancy loss [abortion or miscarriage] are over twice as likely to die compared to women giving birth.” Most deaths are likely related to negative mental health outcomes following abortion which can lead to increased suicides, accidents and homicide from increased risk-taking behaviours.

    It is important to note that it is difficult to do research into abortion-related deaths. This can be because doctors are unwilling to take part in research. In addition, abortion deaths can be misclassified because of similarities to other pregnancy-related complications such as miscarriage, haemorrhage or sepsis. This can lead to abortion appearing safer than it really is.