four years after the supreme court’s decision in dobbs v. jackson women’s health organization, new research from verge, published in jama network open, found that total abortion bans were associated with increased suicidality among female high school students.
using data from the cdc’s state-level youth risk behavior surveys collected between 2017 and 2023, we compared trends in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among female and male high school students in five states that implemented total abortion bans and 10 states that did not.
what we found
- among female high school students, increases in suicidal ideation were 4.3 percentage points higher in states that implemented total abortion bans than in states that did not. for suicide attempts, the changes were similar in magnitude but less precise and not statistically significant in the adjusted model.
- we did not find comparable changes among male high school students for suicidal ideation or suicide attempts.
- these findings add to a growing body of evidence that abortion bans may be adversely affecting the physical and mental health of reproductive-age women, while providing important new evidence about their potential effects on adolescents.
what’s next?
as state reproductive health policies continue to shift, young people are experiencing the consequences in real time. understanding those consequences requires rigorous, timely research.
- more information is needed about the mechanisms underlying the relationships between abortion bans and adolescent suicidality, as well as the potential role of race, ethnicity, and other factors.
- verge is partnering with advocates for youth to convene workshops with young people living in states with total abortion bans to discuss the findings, explore potential mechanisms, and identify ideas for youth-led interventions.
- we are also conducting additional analyses to better understand whether the effects of abortion bans on adolescents may differ across communities and backgrounds.
media inquiries, contact wsheldon@vergeresearch.org