ANSIRH News

Abortion restrictions can make obtaining an abortion impossible for people with complex life situations

States across the U.S. have enacted restrictive abortion laws, and many of those states have multiple restrictive laws in place. We examined how these laws have impacted women who considered, but did not have, an abortion. We found that, for people dealing with complex life situations, including dealing with economic insecurity, mental health, and substance use, restrictive abortion laws can make obtaining abortion care impossible.

An overwhelming majority of women who have an abortion say the decision was right for them 5 years later

Many states justify laws restricting abortion – like mandatory waiting periods and ultrasound viewing – by claiming that women will come to regret their decisions. We conducted a longitudinal study of women across the country and found that 97.5% of them felt that having an abortion was the right decision one week after obtaining one and 99% felt it was the right decision five years afterward. Women had a full range of emotions, from relief to sadness, but our study found that those emotions decreased over time.

Scientific evidence is less important than stories in shaping state legislators’ abortion policy decisions

Although research shows that abortion is very safe, many U.S. states have passed laws restricting abortion claiming a concern for patient safety. We interviewed lawmakers in three states about their abortion policy decision-making, and found that stories and the views of trusted intermediaries carried more weight than scientific evidence.

ANSIRH Research Highlights 2019

Welcome to ANSIRH's accomplishments for 2019. We are proud to share our major achievements from the past year, including publications, media mentions, op-eds, awards, legal and legislative briefs, and other highlights.

Abortion on TV in 2019

We documented forty-three instances of abortion disclosures or discussions onscreen in 2019, more than we’ve ever observed in a single year. Unlike 2018, the majority of characters featured in abortion plotlines were white, contrary to reality: the majority of people who have abortions are people of color. Other notable trends include multiple depictions of self-managed abortion, portrayed inaccurately as both ineffective and unsafe, as well as slightly more characters portrayed as raising children at the time of their abortion than in previous years.

Contraceptive counseling should address multiple considerations, not just desire to avoid pregnancy

To provide patient-centered contraceptive counseling and care, providers should consider both patients’ pregnancy preferences and the features that matter to them in a birth control method. Our study with Columbia University used the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy scale, a new instrument that captures the ranges of feelings women might have about a potential pregnancy. The research showed that most women – including those with a high preference for avoiding pregnancy and women who are open to a pregnancy –used contraception. And women with a stronger desire to avoid pregnancy did not use more effective methods. Healthcare providers should consider the features of contraception outside of how effective the method is a preventing pregnancy that can shape patient’s contraceptive decision-making.

Receiving versus being denied a wanted abortion is not associated with graduating or dropping out of school over five years

Prior research has been unclear about whether people attain lower levels of education as a result of unintended childbearing itself or as a result of other factors that limit their socioeconomic opportunities. We did not find a difference in graduation or drop-out rates between women who received a wanted abortion compared to women who were denied an abortion. However, among those that graduated, women who received a wanted abortion more often finished a post-secondary (post high school) degree compared to women who were denied a wanted abortion and went on to parent.

Social scientists file amicus brief urging U.S. Supreme Court to find admitting privileges unconstitutional

Leading social scientists filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court of the United States to reject Louisiana’s law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at hospitals. The brief points to the body of scientific evidence on these restrictions showing that admitting privileges are medically unnecessary and that laws that create barriers to abortion services harm, rather than improve, women’s health.

Performing informed consent visits through telemedicine reduces burdens of mandatory delay

Utah is one of five states with a mandatory 72-hour delay between when a patient attends an informed consent visit and when they can have an abortion, which means patients have to make two separate visits to the clinic. We examined the impact of using telemedicine for informed consent visits and found that it reduced travel distance for people living in areas with limited access to abortion.

Medical and midwifery students in Chile want their university to provide abortion training

In 2017, Chile decriminalized abortion in 3 limited circumstances. Soon after legal reform, we assessed support for training in abortion-related care among students seeking medical or midwifery degrees at both secular and religious universities. While most medical and midwifery students are interested in becoming trained to provide abortion-related care and believe their university should provide this training, they also have some concerns.

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ANSIRH News

Abortion restrictions can make obtaining an abortion impossible for people with complex life situations

An overwhelming majority of women who have an abortion say the decision was right for them 5 years later

Scientific evidence is less important than stories in shaping state legislators’ abortion policy decisions

ANSIRH Research Highlights 2019

Abortion on TV in 2019

Contraceptive counseling should address multiple considerations, not just desire to avoid pregnancy

Receiving versus being denied a wanted abortion is not associated with graduating or dropping out of school over five years

Social scientists file amicus brief urging U.S. Supreme Court to find admitting privileges unconstitutional

Performing informed consent visits through telemedicine reduces burdens of mandatory delay

Medical and midwifery students in Chile want their university to provide abortion training

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