Many people have been shown to have studied the mental effects of abortion on women. Depending on the questions asked and the information the women were willing to provide, the results varied to the point of making it very difficult to draw a complete conclusion. Many of the women interviewed had aborted their first pregnancy, after having a child, or had given birth to an unwanted pregnancy. In this article, I will discuss the history, different effects and reasons why women have abortions. History and Background In 1973, the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion in the well-known case of Roe v. Wade. Public debate over the mental health risks of abortion dates back to 1987, when President Reagan asked Surgeon General Koop to report on the psychological and physical effects of abortion. Mr. Koop never submitted a report, but wrote the president a letter stating that the information was insufficient to support conclusions about the psychological nature of abortion. Koop did not report on the physical effects of abortion because obstetricians and gynecologists had already concluded that there was no difference between women who had an abortion or who carried an unwanted baby to term. The surgeon general also said in his letter to the president that individual cases could not allow him to reach a scientific conclusion, but he felt it was clear to him that the psychological effects of abortion are very small due to public health point of view. In 1989, another task force was formed and concluded that "severe negative reactions after legal, non-restrictive first trimester abortions are rare and can be better understood in the context of management.... .. middle of paper... .., 17(4), 268-290. doi:10.1080/10673220903149119Skuster, P. (2009). Implement mental health guidance to help ensure access to safe abortion. Medicine and Law, 28(2), 419-432. Taken from EBSCOhost. Steinberg, J.R. and Russo, N.F. (2008). Abortion and anxiety: what is the relationship?. Social Sciences and Medicine, 67(2), 238-252. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.03.033Steinberg, J. & Finer, L. (2011). Examining the association between history of abortion and current mental health: a reanalysis of the National Comorbidity Survey using a common risk factor model. Social Sciences and Medicine, 72(1), 72-82. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Warren, J.T., Harvey, S., & Henderson, J.T. (2010). Do depression and low self-esteem follow teenage abortion? Evidence from a national study. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 42(4), 230. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.