Self-managed abortion

10. January 2025
Author: Bielefeld University

In recent years, abortion has once again become a central topic of political and social debate. Some countries are opting for more liberal regulations, while in others conservative and right-wing forces are pushing through restrictive laws and policies. These developments are accompanied and driven by both anti-abortion movements and feminist activist organizations. On the feminist activist side, national, international and transnational groups and networks advocating self-managed abortions are playing an increasingly important role. An international research group will now analyze the role of feminist self-managed abortion activism at the Bielefeld Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF).

The group ‘Translocal Networks for Feminist Self-Manage Abortion in the Americas and Eu-rope: Transforming Law, Health and Culture Through Activism and Scholarship’ will be working at the ZiF in January. From 15 to 17 January, the researchers will discuss their work in a workshop with external guests.

Continued: https://aktuell.uni-bielefeld.de/2025/01/10/self-managed-abortion/?lang=en

Medication abortions may be more painful than women expect, study finds

The pain is often described as similar to period cramps, catching some women off guard if it turns out to be more severe.

Dec. 17, 2024
By Kaitlin Sullivan

Many women are surprised by how much pain they experience during a medication abortion, a study published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health found.

More than 60% of abortions in the U.S. are medication abortions, meaning a person takes two drugs, often at home, to end a pregnancy. The study, which surveyed women in the U.K., found that many don’t feel prepared for the amount of pain they may feel during the procedure.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/medication-abortions-may-painful-women-expect-study-finds-rcna184554

USA – State Policy Trends 2024: Anti-Abortion Policymakers Redouble Attacks on Bodily Autonomy

Dec 16, 2024
Kimya Forouzan, Isabel Guarnieri, Mollie Fairbanks, Talia Curhan, Guttmacher Institute

In 2024, the US sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) landscape remained deeply fragmented. Many states enacted policies to expand access to sexual and reproductive health services, including state constitutional protections for abortion that passed by ballot initiative in seven states. But other states started or continued enforcing draconian abortion bans and other restrictions that limit people’s bodily autonomy and aim to instill fear around seeking abortion care.

With an incoming Trump-Vance administration in 2025, this divide between protective and restrictive states may widen: Protective states may find innovative ways to support sexual and reproductive health care and rights, while restrictive states may double down, emboldened by a hostile administration. Moreover, new federal policies, such as additional restrictions on medication abortion pills or even a national abortion ban, could impact everyone, regardless of what state they live in.

Continued: https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/12/state-policy-trends-2024-anti-abortion-policymakers-redouble-attacks-bodily-autonomy

16.12.2024

Research

Guttmacher Institute

sexual and reproductive health services

DRC – Stakeholder perceptions of midwife-led, woman-centered comprehensive abortion care in Kinshasa

Habygaelle Muzie, Communications Advisor, Ipas DRC
December 5, 2024

We are delighted to announce the publication of a scientific paper developed by Ipas Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in collaboration with the Professional Association of Congolese Midwives (SCOSAF) and Karolinska Institute, with funding from SIDA.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), morbidity and mortality resulting from unsafe abortions are alarmingly high. However, the recent ratification of the Maputo Protocol in 2018 has made safe abortion accessible. National implementation strategies recognize midwives as providers of comprehensive abortion care (CAC), yet there is little understanding of their current role in its provision.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/stakeholder-perceptions-of-midwife-led-woman-centered-comprehensive-abortion-care/

05.12.2024

midwives and abortion

Professional Association of Congolese Midwives

safe abortion

SCOSAF

Africa

Democratic Republic of Congo

USA – Study of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Reveals Misleading and Dangerous Claims

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine provides the first national assessment of crisis pregnancy centers and their operations

December 02, 2024
Mika Ono

A new study from scientists at the University of California San Diego introduces a powerful new approach to understanding the operation of crisis pregnancy centers, non-profit organizations dedicated to an anti-abortion agenda. The study published in JAMA Internal Medicine provides the first account of the practices of crisis pregnancy centers (CPC) operating in the United States.

"While our study shows crisis pregnancy centers provide valuable community services, like parenting classes, there is a clear need for consumer safety measures to prevent the promotion and use of their questionable medical services," said John W. Ayers, Ph.D., who is deputy director of informatics at the UC San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, in addition to scientist at UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute, co-creator of ChoiceWatch.org and study coauthor.

Continued: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/study-of-crisis-pregnancy-centers-reveals-misleading-and-dangerous-claims

Medication abortion also safe before 6 weeks of pregnancy

By Nancy Lapid
November 18, 2024

Medication abortions can be safely performed as early as the fourth week of pregnancy, researchers reported on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Abortions induced by medications are generally not done until week five or six, when an ultrasound exam can confirm a pregnancy inside the uterus.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/health-rounds-medication-abortion-also-safe-before-6-weeks-pregnancy-2024-11-19/

18.11.2024

Research

abortion at four weeks

Dr. Karin Brandell

Karolinska University Hospital

Kristina Gemzell-Danielsson

safety of abortion

safety of early abortion

Medical Abortion is Safe Even at the Very Early Stages of Pregnancy

Nov 11, 2024
HUS

Obtaining a medical abortion only after pregnancy is confirmed by ultrasound can extend waiting times and increase the psychological and physical burden on the person seeking an abortion. A large international study confirmed that medical abortion is an effective and safe method to terminate a pregnancy even before it is visible on an ultrasound.

Medical abortion is performed using medication without surgical intervention. In 2023, as many as 99 percent of all terminations were done with medication. Traditionally, medical termination has been performed only after pregnancy is confirmed by ultrasound. Medical termination uses two different medications: the first, mifepristone, blocks the effects of the corpus luteum hormone on the uterus, and the second, misoprostol, causes uterine contractions and empties the contents of the uterus. Medical abortion can often be done at home using instructions that the patient can follow.

Continued: https://www.hus.fi/en/newsroom/medical-abortion-safe-even-very-early-stages-pregnancy

11.11.2024

Research

Dr. Oskari Heikinheimo

Karolinska University Hospital

Abortion Access for U.S. Immigrants

A reproductive epidemiologist explores the barriers and gateways to abortion access for U.S. immigrants

by Vida Foubister
October 28, 2024

During and for two hours immediately following the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in September, abortion was the most searched topic online, according to an analysis by New York University researchers. Not surprisingly, immigration came in second.

As Heidi E. Jones, a reproductive epidemiologist, and her co-authors noted in a recent Journal of Migration and Health article titled "Abortion Care Access and Experience Among U.S. Immigrants: A Systematic Review," "The geopolitical intersection between immigration and abortion policy makes this a particularly salient issue." With the election only weeks away, Think Global Health reached out to Jones to discuss the findings of her study and strategies she believes can help ensure greater abortion access among immigrant populations.

Continued: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/abortion-access-us-immigrants

28.10.2024

immigrants and abortion

Why Six-Week Abortion Bans Make It Impossible for Many People to Get Care

Guttmacher Institute – Doris W. Chiu, Anna Bernstein, Alice F. Cartwright, Rachel K. Jones
Oct 7, 2024

All bans restricting abortion based on gestation are unjust; these arbitrary limits can make abortion inaccessible, leaving pregnant people’s reproductive autonomy dependent on their state of residence. But six-week abortion bans are especially pernicious because they prohibit abortion before many people know they are pregnant. Uncovering information on the timing of pregnancy recognition is vital to understanding the harmful effects of abortion bans based on gestation and who is most affected by them.

A new analysis of data from the Guttmacher Institute’s 2021–2022 Abortion Patient Survey finds that 37% of people accessing abortion discovered their pregnancy at six weeks or later. The survey collected information from a national sample of more than 6,500 people who obtained abortions in clinics across the United States between June 2021 and July 2022 (methodological details below).

Continued: https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/10/why-six-week-abortion-bans-make-it-impossible-many-people-get-care

Post-Roe, pregnant women face growing risk of criminal prosecution for charges much broader than abortion

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN
Tue September 24, 2024

A fractured landscape of reproductive rights continues to evolve in the United States in the wake of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision that revoked the federal right to an abortion, and a new report suggests that pregnant women now face increased risk of criminal prosecution.

Between June 2022 and June 2023, there were more than 200 cases in which a pregnant person faced criminal charges for conduct associated with pregnancy, pregnancy loss or birth — the most cases recorded in a single year over decades of tracking, according to Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit focused on the civil and human rights of pregnant people.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/24/health/criminal-charges-during-pregnancy-increase/index.html

24.09.2024