A recent study published in the International Journal of Cardiology Cardiovascular Risk and Prevention found that women who have had abortions are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

The study analyzed more than 1 million records for Medicaid-eligible women between 1999 and 2014, identifying a “history of pregnancy losses, CVD, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia prior to first live birth.”

Women who lost a pregnancy, including induced or natural losses, had an 18% greater risk of developing CVD than women whose first pregnancy led to a live birth.

Although women who had a live birth following their first pregnancy had a slightly greater chance of developing CVD within 6 months, compared to women who suffered a miscarriage or had an abortion, the “cumulative risk of CVD among those with a history of pregnancy loss consistently increased faster than that for women whose pregnancy ended in a live birth,” the study said.

The study also found that “each pregnancy loss exposure” increases the risk of CVD.

Women “with a history of abortion” also have “lower cardiovascular health during subsequent pregnancies,” according to the study.

David Reardon, Ph.D., a Lozier Institute associate scholar and director of the Elliot Institute, said in a statement, “While miscarriages are tragic and unavoidable, elective abortions are entirely avoidable and clearly contribute to the number one cause of death in our country.”

“The American Heart Association has been vocal in warning women of the link between miscarriage and heart disease. I hope that these numbers will motivate a similar warning on abortions,” he added.

A 2022 study similarly found that the risk of cardiovascular diseases increases after miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion.

“We identified a higher CVD risk for women with a history of stillbirth, and a history of recurrent abortion,” the study’s authors wrote. “Higher CHD risk was found for women with a history of recurrent miscarriage, a history of one or more stillbirths or recurrent stillbirth. Higher stroke risk was found for women with a history of stillbirth.”