Pregnancy alone doesn’t cause suicide. There is no medical evidence to suggest that abortion is a treatment for suicidal ideation.
A 60-year study of three of the largest maternity hospitals in Ireland by Professor Patricia Casey, a leading psychiatrist, found that no woman ever died by suicide because she was pregnant.
Over one million women were surveyed. The study found that in total five women died by suicide – one died during pregnancy (at 30 weeks), while four died shortly after giving birth.
Vitally and crucially the data obtained from these reports shows that the five women who died by suicide did not do so because of their pregnancy but because of problems external to it such as mental illness.
Discovering you are pregnant can sometimes be a shock. Older mums can be just as overwhelmed as teenage mothers. It is vital that women and girls who need help in an unplanned pregnancy have access to adequate support.
The sad experience is that once laws permitting abortion are introduced, they diminish the society’s respect for the value of every human life. There is an unceasing challenge for our Government and society at large to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for mothers and their unborn children.
