Welcome to ANSIRH's accomplishments for 2021. We are proud to share our major achievements from the past year, including publications, media mentions, op-eds, legal activities, and other highlights.
Publications
In 2021, ANSIRH researchers contributed 75 peer-reviewed publications to the field. These articles appeared in the most respected journals of reproductive health, psychology, public health, and beyond. Below is a list of links to summaries for selected 2021 publications. To access the full list of publications, visit our Research and Tools page and select Research Publications in the right-hand dropdown.
- Abortion and COVID-19:
- Abortion denial and impact:
- Pregnancy and contraception:
- Providers:
- Pharmacists can effectively dispense mifepristone for abortions
- Without in-person dispensing requirements, more OB-GYNs would provide medication abortion
- Pharmacists can feasibly dispense mifepristone for abortions
- Abortions can be provided safely and effectively using telehealth
- Medication abortion using a mail-order pharmacy is feasible and effective
- Restrictions
- Medicaid coverage is critical for ensuring abortion access
- Abortion certainty does not increase in states with mandated waiting periods
- Greater travel distance to abortion services associated with lower abortion rates
- Despite restrictions, pregnant women still view abortion as obtainable
- Providing abortion pills before patients need them could enable earlier care
In addition to these publications, ANSIRH researchers published the following books:
- Dr. Katrina Kimport published her second book, No Real Choice: How Culture and Politics Matter for Reproductive Autonomy, which analyzes both the structural obstacles to abortion and the cultural ideologies that try to persuade women not to choose abortion.
- Dr. Diana Greene Foster published the paperback version of The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, A Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having - or Being Denied - an Abortion.
Media articles featuring ANSIRH
In 2021, our work was featured in nearly 228 media articles – a significant number given the continued slowdown in reporting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few highlights are listed below. Please see our website for a curated list of media articles.
- Mississippi Asks: If Women Can Have It All, Is Roe Necessary? (The New York Times)
- What happens when a woman is denied an abortion (NBC News)
- Cecily Strong's 'clown abortion' SNL sketch prompts women to share their stories (The Today Show)
- What Self-Managed Medication Abortion Is Really Like (Teen Vogue)
- As FDA Considers Easing Medication Abortion Restrictions, New Study Finds Patients Prefer Flexibility (Forbes)
- What Happens When a State Bans Abortions? If You Don’t Know, Now You Know (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah)
- How Texas’ Abortion Ban Will Lead to More At-Home Abortions (Time)
- The Way We Talk About Abortion Is Part of the Problem (The Cut)
- New Study Shows Online Abortion Services Are Safe and Effective: “Telehealth Medication Abortion is the Future” (Ms. Magazine)
- The best abortion portrayals in TV and movies according to experts, from 'The Bold Type' to 'Bridgerton' (Business Insider)
- UC betrays its values when it partners with Catholic hospitals that restrict care (Los Angeles Times)
- Cost of care, distance to clinics drives demand for self-managed abortion: Study (ABC News)
- A Top Medical Journal Said “No Physician Is Racist.” Now Scientists Are Boycotting. (Buzzfeed)
Op-eds
In 2021, ANSIRH's work or researchers were featured in 22 opinion pieces, including an opinion by the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board. Of these, ANSIRH researchers penned 15 op-eds. Titles and links for these are listed by author below.
- Diana Greene Foster: What Happens When It’s Too Late to Get an Abortion (The New York Times), Yes, science can weigh in on abortion law (Nature Portfolio)
- Lori Freedman: Bishops in the Exam Room: The ERDs and Catholic Healthcare (Conscience Magazine)
- Daniel Grossman: Opinion: How the Biden administration should stand up for abortion rights (The Washington Post) Op-Ed: We need two laws to ensure reproductive choice for all Californians (Los Angeles Times), Texas' abortion crisis proves the abortion pill needs to be in every drug store (NBC News)
- Carole Joffe: Even Texas Allows Abortions to Protect a Woman’s Life. Or Does It? (The New York Times)
- Leah Koenig and Ushma D. Upadhyay: Virtual Clinics Offer Safe and Effective Abortion Care (Public Health Post)
- Monica McLemore: We Must Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage (Scientific American), Op-Ed: How to change an American medical system that harms Black maternal health (Los Angeles Times)
- Sarah Roberts: Cost shouldn’t impede access to abortion for Californians (CalMatters)
- Gretchen Sisson: Barrett is wrong: Adoption doesn’t ‘take care of’ the burden of motherhood (The Washington Post)
Legal and Policy Activities
Even with the pandemic, ANSIRH’s work continued to resonate in policy, legal, and cultural debates – in particular, supporting legal teams with the best evidence for laws and policies that advance reproductive health. ANSIRH researchers participated in a number of court hearings and legal proceedings in 2021:
- In April, Dr. Sarah Roberts testified in front of the California Senate Committee on Health in support of SB 245, California’s Abortion Accessibliity Act, citing her research on the out-of-pocket costs for abortion and the challenges they pose for those seeking abortion
- In August, Dr. Ushma Upadhyay served as an expert witness in a lawsuit filed to stop Oklahoma’s new abortion restrictions, which were successfully blocked by the Oklahoma State Supreme Court
- In August, Dr. Grossman served as expert witness in a case challenging several abortion restrictions in Indiana, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance v. Rokita (Indiana). A federal judge struck down several of the anti-abortion restrictions as unconstitutional.
- In September, Dr. Diana Greene Foster, Dr. M. Antonia Biggs, and Dr. Nancy Berglas co-led an amicus brief of 100 social scientists for the upcoming Supreme Court case on abortion, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health
- In October, New Jersey passed new rules to allow nurses and physician assistants to perform abortions, citing ANSIRH research by Dr. Berglas and Dr. Sarah Roberts, and previous ANSIRH research on advance practice clinicians and abortion care.
- In October, Dr. Lauren Ralph and Dr. Biggs testified in legal proceedings against Illinois’ Parental Notification of Abortion Act, which was repealed in the Illinois legislature.
- Through 2021, Dr. Grossman and Dr. Upadhyay and their teams submitted evidence to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of pharmacy dispensing and telehealth abortion and the need to remove restrictions on mifepristone for greater access to medication abortion.
Other highlights from 2021
- Our researchers received the following awards and recognitions in 2021:
- Dr. Diana Greene Foster won the Population Association of America’s Harriet B. Presser Award, the society’s highest honor, for her sustained contributions to the study of gender and demography.
- For her impressive academic, research and mentorship achievements, Dr. Upadhyay won the Beacon of Science Award by the Society of Family Planning. This award was created in recognition of marked, visionary contributions towards just and equitable abortion and contraception informed by science.
- For her dedicated, ongoing, and exemplary service to Maternal and Child Health (MCH), Dr. Monica McLemore received the 2021 MCH Section Outstanding Leadership/Advocacy Award from the American Public Health Association (APHA). The Outstanding Leadership/Advocacy Award recognizes an APHA member who is an MCH leader serving at a local, state or national level and has made significant contributions to the field by creating the political will to improve mothers' and children's health.
- Our researchers were featured in 21 radio shows, podcasts, and video interviews, including Dr. Foster appearing on MSNBC, and Dr. Gretchen Sisson appearing on NPR's All Things Considered.
- Six new staff members joined ANSIRH in 2021: Jennifer Ko, Project Director for the California Home Abortion by Telehealth (CHAT) Study and Missed Period Pill; Leah Koenig as Data Analyst for studies that examine novel methods for expanding abortion access; Daisy Becerra, Digital Specialist for ANSIRH's social and digital content; Irene Orellana Bonilla, Clinical Research Coordinator for ANSIRH’s ADAPT Study; and Gillian Borges, Administrative Coordinator for ANSIRH’s Alternative Provision of Medication Abortion team.
- ANSIRH celebrated a new faculty member in 2021: Dr. Waru Gichane, an Assistant Professor and social and behavioral scientist. Her research is dedicated to identifying and addressing the structural and social factors that produce disparities in sexual and reproductive health outcomes in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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