A new study found a significant increase in suicidal ideation for teen girls in states with abortion bans — regardless of if they are pregnant. There was no increase for teen boys.
By Shefali Luthra , The19th
July 31, 2026
Abortion bans may be driving more teenage girls to seriously contemplate suicide — regardless of whether they are pregnant, a new study finds.
Already, teenage girls are at greater risk of serious depression and suicidal ideation, which means considering or planning suicide. Some public health officials suggest the rates of depression may be at crisis levels: Federal data published in 2024 found that the year prior, 52.6 percent of high school girls said they felt persistently sad or hopeless — close to double the share of high school boys who said they felt similarly. About 27.1 percent of girls said they had seriously considered suicide, compared to 14.1 percent of boys. The federal data doesn’t account for nonbinary students.
Continued; https://19thnews.org/2026/07/abortion-bans-teen-girls-suicidal-thoughts-study/