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Few studies have examined the long-term physical health outcomes of abortion versus unwanted pregnancy culminating in birth. In this prospective cohort study, researchers enrolled 1132 women (mean age, 25) who sought an abortion at one of 30 U.S. facilities. Of these women, 163 were denied the procedure because, at mean gestational age of 23 weeks, their pregnancies were above the clinic's age limit. Among 328 and 383 women receiving first- and second-trimester abortions, mean gestational ages were 9 and 21 weeks, respectively. Participants were followed semiannually for 5 years; loss to follow-up ranged from 39% (first-trimester abortion) to 50% (birth). The investigators controlled for a variety of factors (e.g., race, ethnicity, socioeco…