OBJECTIVES: Annually, there are 297,000 mostly illegally-induced abortions leading to at least 85,000 complications in Uganda.  While the impact of abortion complications on clinical outcomes and healthcare costs has been reported, we found no reports on health-related quality-of-life (HRQol).  In this study, we report an assessment of the impact of abortion complications on HRQol using the EQ-5D questionnaire.  METHODS: We interviewed women discharged after treatment for abortion complications and women visiting a regional referral hospital for routine obstetric care.  We administered the EQ-5D and collected demographic, socioeconomic, and social support data using the social support questionnaire short-form.  We performed descriptive analyses using t-tests and chi-square tests, and multiple linear regression to examine the association between abortion complications and EQ-5D Scores.  RESULTS: Our study included 139 women (70 with abortion complications, and 69 receiving routine obstetric care).  A larger proportion with abortion complications than receiving routine obstetric care reported some or severe problems in all 5 domains of the EQ-5D (Mobility: 23% v 13%, p=0.126; Self-care: 42% v 24%, p=0.033; Usual Activities: 49% v 16%, p<0.001; Pain/Discomfort: 68% v 25%, p<0.001; and Anxiety/Depression: 60% v 22%, p<0.001).  Women with abortion complications had a lower mean visual analogue scale score (60 v 68, p<0.001).  After adjusting for age, marital status, number of children alive, social support score and employment status, women with abortion complications had a lower mean EQ-5D index score than those receiving routine obstetric care (unadjusted difference = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.08-0.17, p<0.001; adjusted difference = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.06-0.17, p<0.001).  CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that abortion complications are associated with diminished health-related quality of life. In addition to economic and clinical consequences, complications resulting from induced, often unsafe, abortion may have considerable effects on the quality of life of women in Uganda.