For decades, the abortion industry and its political allies have repeated the same mantra: abortion is safe, easy, and even empowering for women. We have been told that any suggestion of long-term regret or mental health complications is nothing more than propaganda from the pro-life movement. Basically, abortion activists have made the case that killing your unborn baby is no more emotionally damaging than having a tooth pulled. Unfortunately, it’s a narrative that far too many women have found to be untrue — when it’s too late.

The data is exposing the lie of liberation promised by feminists and confirming what countless women have quietly shared for years: Abortion often leaves deep scars, both emotionally and mentally. Several new studies, published in peer-reviewed journals, are shedding light on the real risks this supposedly “critical” part of women’s so-called healthcare truly poses to women’s mental health. The findings are sobering, and they completely undermine the carefully curated narrative of abortion being a harmless “choice.”

A recent study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research analyzed data from thousands of women, comparing mental health outcomes after abortion versus childbirth. The conclusion was alarming: Women who had an abortion were significantly more likely to suffer from mental health issues. This wasn’t a small statistical blip. Standing in stark contrast to women who carried their pregnancies to term and experienced the stress of pregnancy and motherhood, the research found higher risks of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse following abortion.

Another finding was even more troubling than the increased likelihood of mental health struggles: Abortion doubles a woman’s risk of psychiatric hospitalization. As The Federalist noted, “Women who have a first-pregnancy abortion face a significantly higher risk of needing mental health treatment, particularly inpatient treatment, after the abortion than women who give birth.” That’s not an insignificant detail — it represents a profound public health concern.

For years, abortion activists insisted that women walk away from clinics relieved, unburdened, and free. Yet the data now demonstrates that many of them are not walking away whole. Some are walking into emergency rooms or psychiatric facilities in the months and years that follow, and this puts the past narratives on track to collapse completely. But will those who push it lighten up on promoting this egregious practice? Probably not.

Hollywood, Planned Parenthood, and progressive politicians have sold the idea that abortion is empowering. Everyone remembers actress Michelle Williams’s speech after winning her Golden Globe wherein she told the audience that she “wouldn’t have been able to do this without employing a woman’s right to choose.” The idea is that this has enabled women to have more control over their lives, futures, and bodies. Any claim to the contrary was dismissed as anti-woman or “religious extremism.”

However, peer-reviewed science is now revealing the significant and potentially dangerous flaws in these claims. If abortion were truly empowering and gave women so much more ability to decide their path in life clearly, why would so many women face double the risk of psychiatric hospitalization afterward? If abortion were a path to happiness, why would studies show higher rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse among women who chose it?

The truth is, abortion was never designed to free women or embolden them. It was designed to erase consequences. It was also a manipulative tool for Democrats to use to scare women into believing that voting for the ability to kill the unborn meant freedom, and voting for the other side meant oppression and enslavement. Of course, this means that the full context of what abortion is, and the full scope of possible consequences, have been left out of the conversation between patients and doctors. And at this point, it might qualify as malpractice.

Of these studies, National Review’s Wesley Smith put it bluntly: “If informed consent and ‘choice’ are to mean anything, abortionists should be duty-bound to inform pregnant women about this particular risk.” In any other area of medicine, informed consent is a sacred principle. Patients must be informed not only about the immediate procedure but also about the short-term and long-term risks. That’s why even minor surgeries come with disclaimers about complications.

For the sake of convenience and cover-up, abortion has long been the exception. Clinics have downplayed the seriousness of these procedures and ignored, or even outright denied, the possibility of physical and psychological harm. Women were told they would feel “relief” or that this would allow them to fulfill their dreams by simply letting them choose motherhood at a time when it was more convenient. But rarely, if ever, have they been warned that years of depression might follow, or told of their fellow “empowered” women who turned to substances to numb the pain of the loss.

Leaving these risks out of the conversation directly contradicts the promise of “choice.” It’s deception. And deception is not healthcare, or care of any kind.

The abortion industry’s refusal to grapple with these realities doesn’t just affect statistics. It hurts real women, potentially for the rest of their lives. After they have participated in something they were promised would free them, they are left vulnerable, unprepared, and unsupported when the aftermath hits. Women who experience regret or mental health struggles after abortion often say they feel isolated and silenced — told that their pain isn’t real, or, worse, that sharing their post-abortion struggles might actually harm the feminist movement and hinder their goals of “equality.”

So, not only are they being harmed by false information, but they are also further harmed by being told that their challenges only matter before the procedure. Afterward, they’re on their own. This betrayal is why so many pro-life advocates argue that the abortion industry is not pro-woman at all. It sells an illusion of autonomy while hiding the truth of the costs. And when those costs come due, it abandons the very women it claims to defend. If we truly care about women’s health and women’s rights, then honesty must be at the center of the conversation.

True empowerment does not come from erasing motherhood but from equipping women with the full picture and supporting them through whatever challenges they face. Informed consent isn’t optional, and it’s not political. It’s critical for anyone who claims to be pro-woman. Anything less is exploitation.

Actual advocates of women’s rights must demand honesty, transparency, and genuine care because authentic autonomy, healthcare, equality, and rights are not based on deception. They are based on truth.