Women considering an abortion must be provided with accurate information about the procedure and its possible effects on their health – not least because it is most often carried out on healthy women . Additionally, there are complex legal, social, ethical and personal questions relating to abortion that do not pertain to other procedures. Moreover, because ambivalence about an abortion decision is common, and ambivalence is related to post-abortion distress, the requirement to provide information is made even more acute. Abortions have been conducted legally in many countries over the past few decades and considerable research has been undertaken on the physical and psychological impact on women, and also on the circumstances surrounding the decision-making process.