House Health Care Bill Mandates Study Of Mental Health Outcomes of Abortion, Adoption

Just putting this out there in as non-confrontational a way as one can: Beginning on page 1420, the House health care reform bill rolled out earlier today requires NIMH to study the mental health outcomes for women who have abortions or otherwise "resolve" a pregnancy. The bill is downloadable here.

"It is the sense of the Congress that the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health may conduct a nationally representative longitudinal study (during the period of fiscal years 2011 through 2020) on the relative mental health consequences for women of resolving a pregnancy (intended and unintended) in various ways, including carrying the pregnancy to term and parenting the child, carrying the pregnancy to term and placing the child for adoption, miscarriage, and having an abortion. This study may assess the incidence, timing, magnitude, and duration of the immediate and long-term mental health consequences (positive or negative) of these pregnancy outcomes."

I have no idea why this is included in a bill that's supposed to reform our health care system--for good or ill. Maybe I'm missing something. The bill requires NIMH to report back to Congress on study progress and findings within three years.

Of course, the relative psychological impacts of abortion are some of the most heated aspects of the abortion debate. Pro-lifers often claim that women who undergo abortions often end up depressed while pro-choicers often claim that there's no psychological detriment. I've seen competing evidence in the medical literature on this point over the years. I'll leave it at that.