Social issues don’t get come much more divisive or controversial than abortion, and while people may always differ in their moral opinions and beliefs, it’s still worth checking in with the cold hard facts every now and then. So, at the risk of sparking a storm in the comments section beneath this article, it’s time to draw your attention to a new study suggesting that teenagers who undergo abortions tend to be more prosperous in early adulthood than those who give birth, while showing no evidence of psychological damage.

Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, the study authors point out that in 2008, the American Psychological Association concluded that adult women who have abortions face no increased risk of mental health problems. However, little research has been conducted into whether or not the same goes for underage girls who undergo abortions before the age of 18.

To investigate, they collected data on 29,000 Finnish women, all of whom were born in 1987, and analyzed their medical, educational and socioeconomic progress until the age of 25. Of this cohort, 1,041 had abortions before they were 18, while a further 394 gave birth before reaching this milestone age.

Among the main findings of the study is that there were “no significant differences between the underage abortion and the childbirth group regarding risks of psychiatric disorders.” Indeed, those who had teenage abortions showed no increased tendency for any type of mental condition, including drug abuse disorders, mood disorders and neurotic or stress-related disorders.

Furthermore, compared to those who gave birth, teenagers who had abortions were more likely to achieve a higher level of education, and were less likely to be on social welfare at the age of 25.

It is worth noting, however, that compared to those who did not become pregnant during their teenage years, both those who had abortions and those who gave birth before the age of 18 had an increased probability of psychiatric disorders and lower socioeconomic status. However, the take-home message of the study is that the effects of having an underage abortion do not appear to produce any adverse mental effects when compared to giving birth, and actually tend to generate more educational and economic advantages.

Given that the proportion of pregnancies among 15 to 19-year-olds that end in abortion is 30 percent in the US, 43 percent in the UK and as high as 77 percent in Sweden, the results of this study are likely to be of high social relevance.

Commenting on this discovery, study co-author Oskari Heikinheimo told Reuters that teenage abortion “makes a lot of sense.”