This ethnographic content analysis, published this month in Women’s Health Issues, examined a sample of 783 news and opinion pieces on abortion published in the Associated Press, New York Times, and Washington Post in 2013 and 2016. We found that abortion is covered as a political issue much more than as a health issue.
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We sought to understand whether women seeking prenatal care considered abortion for their current pregnancy and if abortion restrictions played a role in whether women had an abortion. About one third of participants reporting considering abortion, with the most common reason for not having an abortion relating to a woman’s own decision-making. However, abortion restrictions do prevent some women from obtaining wanted abortions. States with multiple abortion restrictions place the abortion out of reach for some women despite abortion being legal, particularly for women struggling to make ends meet.
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Our study finds that women who have higher levels of reproductive autonomy may experience lower levels of abortion stigma following an abortion. Stigma following the event of an abortion can affect a woman’s emotional well-being. Women who have an abortion can face judgment from others, shame or guilt. However, an increased sense of reproductive autonomy, or the power a woman has over her reproductive decisions, may reduce stigma felt after an abortion. Thus, stigma-reduction interventions aimed at increasing reproductive autonomy may be helpful for women who have an abortion.
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There is little research about the needs and experiences of LGBTQ people in relation to abortion, contraception, and pregnancy. To address this gap, we created a survey with existing and new measures to assess sexual behavior and reproductive anatomy. We assessed the appropriateness of these questions through 39 cognitive interviews with people assigned female at birth who identified as LGBTQ. Participants responded positively to the questions, and gave constructive feedback about pregnancy intention measures. This study provides crucial guidance on how to evaluate the inclusion of LGBTQ people in abortion and contraception research.
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Research on mandatory pre-abortion ultrasound viewing laws has focused on whether they dissuade women from abortion, finding only a very small effect. In this study, we examined whether these laws affect women’s decisional autonomy by compelling viewing, finding evidence that they change women’s viewing decision making, substantially increasing rates of viewing. Moreover, this effect differs by race, with larger impacts on the viewing behavior of black women compared with white women. Findings call for renewed attention at a macro level to the coercive power of laws regulating abortion.
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In this study, we compared the children of 146 women who were denied an abortion to children born to 182 women who received an abortion and had a subsequent child over the course of five years. Denying a woman a wanted abortion makes it more likely she will have a child that she lacks the financial and emotional resources to raise.
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Our research roadmap seeks to understand self-manage abortion and to generate critical evidence to remove unnecessary restrictions and provide medication abortion in user-friendly and accessible ways, with a focus on two complementary goals.
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States are increasingly regulating drug use in pregnant women, yet little is known about these laws. We analyzed over 40 years of state-level policy in this arena and found that the number of states with one or more policies targeting drug use during pregnancy has increased substantially, and that these policies have become more punitive. We compared policies targeting alcohol use during pregnancy and drug use during pregnancy, and found that, with the exception of Mandatory Warning Signs, drug-related policies and alcohol-related policies almost entirely overlap.
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Thirteen states have laws that require abortion clinics to meet the standard of Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs). This is the first study to directly investigate the safety of abortions performed in ASCs compared to office-based settings. There was no significant difference in rates of complications after having an abortion in an ASC compared to having an abortion in an office-based setting. Laws that mandate that abortions be performed in ASCs do not increase the safety of abortions.
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Using data from over 148 million births over 50 years, we found that most state-level policies do not improve birth outcomes, and that several policies are associated with poorer birth outcomes, such as low birthweight, premature birth, and a low APGAR score. Even policies that are meant to be supportive of pregnant women, such as policies that require mandatory warning signs related to alcohol use during pregnancy, were associated with adverse birth outcomes and decreased prenatal care utilization.
Read more...Banner photo: © Aura Orozco-Fuentes
ANSIRH is a program within the UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health and is a part of UCSF's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences.
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