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According to the Louisiana Department of Health:

Complications associated with an abortion or having many abortions may make it difficult to have children.

But it doesn't say exactly how risky it is.

Additionally, according to the National Health Service (UK), there's a risk to fertility which they describe as "very small", but they don't give an exact number.

The NHS states:

Having an abortion will not affect your chances of becoming pregnant and having normal pregnancies in the future

Then it confuses me by stating that it can affect future pregnancies (perhaps they made a mistake earlier):

There's a very small risk to your fertility and future pregnancies if you develop a womb infection that is not treated quickly. The infection could spread to your fallopian tubes and ovaries – known as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

PID can increase the risk of infertility or ectopic pregnancy, where an egg implants itself outside of the womb.

Emphasis added.

Are there any exact data on fertility after such procedures?

Edit: To clarify my question.

What percentage of women get fertility issues related to abortion complications?

E.g. Out of 930,000 women who had an abortion in 2020, how many are expected to have reduced fertility?

Sorry for any confusion I might have caused.

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  • Welcome to Medical Sciences! Questions here are required to show results of prior research. As described in the help center and thereasons mentioned in [this meta post, this demonstrates that you’ve taken the time to try to help yourself, saves us from reiterating obvious answers, and helps you get more specific and relevant answers. Please edit your question with links to or references to what you've found in your search. Otherwise your question may be closed.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    Dec 10, 2022 at 16:27
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    @CareyGregory thanks for the feedback. I already did some research (the NHS article which i linked and its content which i paraphrased). I'll include more. Please let me know if it suffices.
    – Soft wind
    Dec 10, 2022 at 19:31
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    That's perfectly fine. Thank you.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    Dec 10, 2022 at 20:33

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The sentence before your quote from Louisiana Department of Health states

Early abortions that are not complicated by infection do not cause infertility or make it more difficult to carry a later pregnancy to term.

This confirms the NHS statement that having an abortion will not affect your chances of becoming pregnant and having normal pregnancies in the future.

You stated that

[The Louisiana Department of Health] doesn't say exactly how risky it is.

The Louisiana Department of Health outlines risks and their risk levels on the same page as the quote you gave. For example,

  • Pelic Infection Risk is 1% for suction curettage, 1.5% for D&E (Dilatation and Evacuation), and 5% Labour Induction.
  • The opening of the uterus may be torn while it is being stretched open to allow medical instruments to pass through and into the uterus. This happens in less than 1% of first trimester abortions.

What both the NHS and The Louisiana Department of Health state in your linked page is that it is these complications arising from the abortion that can cause issues with future pregnancies, not the abortion itself.

The risk of complications for the woman increases with advancing gestational age. To learn more about the methods of abortion and when each is used, click here.
   - (Louisiana Department of Health)

If you read this linked page and look at the risk percentages for each method, it all ties in with the claim that the risk is higher the further the birth mother is into pregnancy.

Gestation Weeks Abortion Method
1-7 Abortion Pills
8-13 Suction Curettage
14-23 D&E
or Induced Labour
24-38 (Only if life threatened) Induced Labour
or Cesarean Section
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  • Thank you for the answer. However, there are a few issues. The Louisiana page practically says there are 2 groups. A: no complications. B: with complications. In 1 million abortions whoever is in group B has a change to damage her fertility. But there is no number. The numbers mentioned are about a specific complication. Not infertility rates. In other words, what percentage out of the 1% infections (suction procedure) ends up infertile?
    – Soft wind
    Dec 11, 2022 at 10:44
  • Therefore, the “abortion will not affect your chances of becoming pregnant and having normal pregnancies in the future" statement is not true. It does affect chances statistically speaking.
    – Soft wind
    Dec 11, 2022 at 10:52
  • Sorry for not making the question more clear. I edited to do so. In short: What percentage of women get fertility issues related to abortion complications? Not complication %, but fertility reduction %.
    – Soft wind
    Dec 11, 2022 at 19:16

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