Suggested reading

ANSIRH’s office has a library with almost every book published on the topic of abortion, as well as a digital library for journal publications related to abortion. As a way of trying to share it with you, we'll periodically compile lists of books and articles we think will interest you. The most current list is detailed below; previous lists are archived as downloadable pdfs and include:

Reading list on medication abortion (revised August 2009)
Articles and books on abortion that were published in the peer-reviewed literature in 2008 (revised January 2009)
Resources on the history of abortion, to mark the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (revised December 2008)

Recommended reading on abortion and ANSIRH research

We include this list in the orientatation package for new ANSIRH staff. Please feel free to share it with your students or trainees who are interested in an introduction to reproductive health care. Key articles are indicated with asterisks.

Topic 1: Abortion incidence

**Jones R, Kooistra K. Abortion incidence and access to services in the US. Perspectives in Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1): 41-50.

Topic 2: Women’s pregnancy decision-making

**Finer LB, Frohwirth LF, Dauphinee LA, Singh S, Moore AM. Reasons U.S. women have abortions: quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Perspectives in Sexual and Reproductive Health. 2005 Sep;37(3):110-8.
**Prager SW, Steinauer JE, Foster DG, Darney PD, Drey EA., Risk factors for repeat elective abortion, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2007 Dec;197(6):575.e1-6.
Jones, RK, Frohwirth LF, & Moore AM. 2008. "I Would Want to Give My Child, Like, Everything in the World": How Issues of Motherhood Influence Women Who Have Abortions. Journal of Family Issues, 29(1), 79-99.
Adamczyk, A. (2008). The effects of religious contextual norms, structural constraints, and personal religiosity on abortion decisions. Social Science Research, 37(2), 657-672.
Heikinheimo, O., Gissler, M., & Suhonen, S. 2008. Age, parity, history of abortion and contraceptive choices affect the risk of repeat abortion. Contraception, 78(2), 149-154.

Topic 3: Reasons for delays in obtaining abortion care

**Foster DG, Jackson RA, Cosby K, Weitz TA, Darney PD, Drey EA. Predictors of delay in each step leading to an abortion. Contraception. 2008 Apr;77(4):289-93.
Drey EA, Foster DG, Jackson RA, Lee SJ, Cardenas LH, Darney PD. Risk factors associated with presenting for abortion in the second trimester. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2006 Jan;107(1):128-35.
Finer LB, Frohwirth LF, Dauphinee LA, Singh S, Moore AM. Timing of steps and reasons for delays in obtaining abortions in the United States. Contraception. 2006. Oct;74(4):334-44.

Topic 4: Mental health and abortion

**Major B, Appelbaum M, Beckman L, Dutton MA, Russo NF, West C. Abortion and mental health: Evaluating the evidence. American Psychology. 2009 Dec;64(9):863-90.
American Psychological Association, Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion. (2008). Report of the Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion. Washington, DC.
David HP. Born unwanted, 35 years later: the Prague study. Reproductive Health Matters. 2006 May;14(27):181-90.
Warren JT, Harvey SM, Henderson JT. Do depression and low self-esteem follow abortion among adolescents? Evidence from a national study. Perspectives in Sexual and Reproductive Health. 2010 Dec;42(4):230-5.
Steinberg JR, Finer LB. Examining the association of abortion history and current mental health: A reanalysis of the National Comorbidity Survey using a common-risk-factors model. Social Science in Medicine. 2011 Jan;72(1):72-82.

Topic 5: Important context articles

**Joffe CE, Weitz TA, Stacey CL. Uneasy allies: pro-choice physicians, feminist health activists and the struggle for abortion rights. Sociology of Health and Illness. 2004 Sep;26(6):775-96.
**Steinauer J, Landy U., Filippone H, Laube D, Darney, PD, & Jackson, RA. 2008. Predictors of abortion provision among practicing obstetrician-gynecologists: a national survey. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 198(1), 39 e31-36.
Joffe, CE. Chapter 2. Doctors of Conscience: The Struggle to Provide Abortion Before and After Roe v. Wade. Beacon Press. 1995
Weitz TA. Rethinking the mantra that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare." Journal of Women’s History. 2010;22(3):161-72.
Taylor D, Safriet B, Dempsey G, Kruse B, Jackson C. Providing Abortion Care: A Professional Toolkit for Nurse-Midwives, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants (APC Toolkit).
Finer LB, Wei J. Effect of mifepristone on abortion access in the United States. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2009 Sep;114(3):623-30.
Henderson KD, Sullivan-Halley J, Reynolds P, Horn-Ross PL, Clarke CA, Chang ET, et al. 2008. Incomplete pregnancy is not associated with breast cancer risk: the California Teachers Study. Contraception, 77(6), 391-396.

If you have other publications to recommend, please email us.

For reproductive health news, see ANSIRH’s blog.