Married Women Are Most Likely To Opt For Abortions In Developing Countries

Anuradha Varanasi
Feb 28, 2022

Access to safe abortions in low-income and middle-income countries is still a major struggle — thanks to socioeconomic factors, lack of skilled healthcare workers, and patriarchal norms that restrict women’s bodily autonomy, among other barriers. Globally, 45% of all abortions are unsafe and a whopping 97% of them take place in developing countries.

A new study published in the journal PLOS One has highlighted that married women were far more likely to undergo abortions in low-income and middle-income countries. Especially those who had more than four children or were above the age of 30 and highly educated.

Continued: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anuradhavaranasi/2023/02/28/in-developing-countries-married-women-are-most-likely-to-opt-for-abortions/?sh=15dcbd9b2144

28.02.2023

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married women and abortion

World Health Organization

The Public, Including Women of Childbearing Age, Are Largely Confused About the Legality of Medication Abortion and Emergency Contraceptives in Their States

Feb 1, 2023
Even in States Where Abortion is Legal, Many are Uncertain about Legality of Medication Abortion

More than six months since the Supreme Court issued their Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v. Wade, there is widespread public confusion about the medication abortion pill and whether it is legal at the state level, according to the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll. The poll also finds many are unsure about the legality of emergency contraceptive pills, sometimes called morning after pills or “Plan B,” and whether the pills can end a pregnancy.

Across the country at least four in ten U.S. adults say they are “not sure” whether mifepristone, the medication abortion drug, is legal where they live. Half of women (49%) are “unsure” about whether medication abortion is legal in the state they live in, including 41% of women ages 18-49.

Continued: https://connect.kff.org/the-public-including-women-of-childbearing-age-are-largely-confused-about-the-legality-of-medication-abortion-and-emergency-contraceptives-in-their-states

01.02.2023

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Kaiser Family Foundation

Women living in states with abortion bans suffer greater economic insecurity

By Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN
Wed January 18, 2023

Women living in states that restrict or ban abortion face greater economic insecurity than those living in states where they have access, new research finds.

Since the nearly seven months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, half of all states – 26 in total – have implemented new abortion restrictions or all-out bans.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/18/economy/abortion-women-states-economy/index.html

18.01.2023

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Asha Banerjee

economics and abortion

Abortion associated with lower psychological distress compared to both adoption and unwanted birth, study finds

by Laura Staloch
January 8, 2023

New research from Archives of Women’s Mental Health examines the psychological effects associated with different pregnancy outcomes. Study author Natsu Sasaki and her colleagues at The University of Tokyo compared four potential outcomes of pregnancy: wanted birth, abortion, adoption, or unwanted birth. Of the four outcomes, unwanted birth and adoption had the highest scores on a measure of psychological distress.

Research has found that unplanned or unintended pregnancy is related to postpartum depression and is also related to subsequent neglect, abuse, and poor child well-being. Research has also found that unintended pregnancies that result in abortion or adoption can have mental health consequences of their own.

Continued: https://www.psypost.org/2023/01/abortion-associated-with-lower-psychological-distress-compared-to-both-adoption-and-unwanted-birth-study-finds-64678

08.01.2023

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Natsu Sasaki

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UCLA report finds abortion bans have outsized impact on Latinas

Paul Barragan-Monge
December 13, 2022

Nearly half of childbearing-age Latinas in the U.S. currently live in states that ban or restrict abortions, UCLA researchers report, and the percentage of Latinas of childbearing age in each of those states is significantly higher than among their white counterparts.

The findings, from a study released today by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, highlight the challenging post–Dobbs v. Jackson reality for Latinas, who as a group already face heightened barriers in accessing health care and now face an increased risk of unwanted pregnancies and maternal mortality.

Continued: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/abortion-bans-have-outsized-impact-on-latinas

13.12.2022

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Josefina Flores Morales

Latinas and abortion

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

United States

Health

Human Rights

State-level Abortion Restrictions Will Negatively Impact Teens and Children

Hannah Lantos, Emma Pliskin, Elizabeth Wildsmith, Jennifer Manlove
October 20, 2022

In a major public health success, the teen pregnancy rate has declined substantially over the past several decades, as has the teen abortion rate. In 2017, teens accounted for only 6 percent of all pregnancies and 9 percent of all abortions, compared to 12 percent and 17 percent, respectively, in 2006 (see Figure 1). We expect, however, that the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe V. Wade will be harmful for teens, particularly for populations at higher risk of unintended pregnancy—including Black, Hispanic, or Indigenous teens; teens who are bisexual; teens who live in low-income families; and teens who live in the South—due to the many systemic hardships undergirding health disparities more broadly in the United States. These hardships drive lower access to high-quality sexual and reproductive health care, contraception, confidential care, unbiased and nondiscriminatory health care, and comprehensive sex education.

Continued: https://www.childtrends.org/blog/state-level-abortion-restrictions-will-negatively-impact-teens-and-children

20.10.2022

Telemedicine increases access to safe abortion care

28 SEPTEMBER 2022
NIÉMAH DAVIDS

Ground-breaking research into accessing safe abortion services in South Africa has revealed that telemedicine abortion is safe and effective, and a viable alternative to the conventional medical procedure, especially for women in under-resourced settings.

Scientists drew these and other conclusions after completing the world’s first randomised control trial (RCT) into the efficacy of telemedicine abortion – a medication-based abortion that generally relies on a two-drug combination and is aimed at women in their first trimester. The study was a joint collaboration between academics at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Karolinska Institutet – a research-led medical university in Stockholm, Sweden.

Continued: https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2022-09-28-telemedicine-increases-access-to-safe-abortion-care

28.09.2022

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Dr Margit Endler

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Canada – National survey of abortion care providers shows access has improved

UBC - SCIENCE, HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
Sep 27, 2022

Researchers from UBC’s department of obstetrics and gynaecology recently surveyed 465 healthcare professionals who provided abortion care in Canada in 2019—the first such survey in seven years.

A key development in the time between the two surveys was Canada’s approval of mifepristone—the gold standard abortion pill—in 2015.

Continued: https://news.ubc.ca/2022/09/27/national-survey-of-abortion-care-providers-shows-access-has-improved/

27.09.2022

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Abortion in Kenya and Benin: medical safety isn’t enough – women and girls need to feel safe socially too

September 27, 2022
Ramatou Ouedraogo, Grace Kimemia, Jonna Both

Safe abortion and post abortion care are essential health services. But until the publication of the 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) abortion care guidelines there was a narrow definition of abortion safety. In previous WHO guidelines, medical safety was the guiding principle of safe abortion. Safety, according the WHO, referred to abortion carried out using the recommended methods, by a person with the necessary skills or in an environment that conformed to minimal medical standards, or both.

However, research shows that many girls and young women do not search for medical safety when seeking abortion care. They prioritise “social safety”. This is the case regardless of whether they live in settings with restrictive or more liberal laws. Women’s priority is avoiding prosecution and social stigma.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/abortion-in-kenya-and-benin-medical-safety-isnt-enough-women-and-girls-need-to-feel-safe-socially-too-189151

27.09.2022

medical safety of abortion

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World Health Organization

The US Supreme Court abortion verdict is a tragedy. This is how research organizations can help

NATURE editorial
28 June 2022

In response to the demise of Roe v. Wade, universities and research organizations can support those affected, ensure education and research on abortion continue and advocate for evidence-based policy.

The consequences of the US Supreme Court’s 24 June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the court’s own landmark 1973 decision that enshrined the constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years, are already being felt. By striking down Roe, the court has put abortion rights in the hands of US state legislators. They have already responded.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01760-6

28.06.2022