Does Abortion Affect Fertility?

August 1, 2025

It’s perfectly natural to wonder if having an abortion affects future fertility. Most abortion procedures, in and of themselves, do not cause infertility, but complications, such as scarring or an infection, do happen. Although relatively rare, those complications can affect a woman’s future fertility. 

An abortion is a major medical decision, and you’ll want to learn as much as possible. To understand abortion methods and the associated risks, schedule a free appointment with a member of the medical team at Choices.

What Complications Could Cause Fertility Issues?

There are two types of abortion: medical (also known as the abortion pill) and surgical. Both have physical risks that could lead to fertility issues later. 

The Abortion Pill

The abortion pill method uses two drugs to end a pregnancy. The drugs do not cause fertility issues, but complications experienced during the process can. For instance, possible risks include the following:

• Retained products of conception (also known as an incomplete abortion). This means the pregnancy ended, but not all of the pregnancy tissue came out of the body.
• Heavy bleeding that won’t stop. This could lead to a need for a D&C. 
• An infection.

Surgical Abortion

Surgical procedures use medical instruments like a suction device or scraping tool to remove a pregnancy. Dilation and curettage (D&C) is one form of surgical abortion. Possible complications from a D&C include the following:

• Uterine perforation (a small tear in your uterus) may happen if one of the surgical instruments pokes a hole through your uterine wall.
• Infection.
• Bleeding.

How Do These Complications Cause Fertility Issues?

A condition known as Asherman’s syndrome can be a result of a D&C or pelvic infection. Although Asherman’s syndrome is rare, having surgery, such as a D&C, on your uterus can increase your chances of getting the disease.

The symptoms of Asherman’s syndrome can include pelvic pain and abnormal uterine bleeding, and can lead to fertility issues. An infection that could lead to Asherman’s syndrome is pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is typically caused by a sexually transmitted infection.

I’m Considering an Abortion. What Should I Do First?

Learning about abortion procedures, the side effects to expect, and the potential physical and mental health risks is critical. Although Choices does not perform or refer for abortion, we can give you medically accurate information. 

To protect your health and safety before an abortion, we recommend testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Often, an STI has no immediate symptoms, and knowing whether you have one or not is tricky.

Since an STI adds the possibility of the infection spreading during an abortion, you should receive treatment beforehand. Our medical professionals offer limited STD/STI screening for gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and syphilis. 

Screening is only available during urine pregnancy testing. Take time to protect yourself. Make an appointment at Choices for free and confidential STD/STI screening. 

All abortion information sourced in this blog is based on accurate information at the time of writing.