Psychiatry and Abortion*

Abstract

Recommendation for abortion on psychiatric grounds is becoming comparatively more frequent; however, except for severe mental retardation, there are no unequivocal psychiatric grounds. In countries with liberal abortion laws, abortions are recommended for sociomedical reasons much more often than for purely psychiatric reasons, and yet there is little data to enable the psychiatrist to assess these cases objectively and scientifically. He has to rely on his own personal opinion. It seems that psychiatric illness occurring as a result of therapeutic abortion is uncommon, but it does sometimes occur in women who are less psychologically healthy than normal. However no studies have been carried out on unselected cases. Studies on women who have been refused abortion show that the risk of suicide is almost nil, but in some circumstances the risk of criminal abortion is high, but again no studies have been done on unselected cases. The situation in countries with liberal abortion laws is described. The recent amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada does not change the legal position regarding abortion except for setting up a procedure to examine applications. The Canadian law still does not permit abortion for socio-medical, humanitarian or eugenic reasons. The role of Canadian psychiatrists in therapeutic abortion is discussed and a brief survey has been carried out on their interpretation of the law.