Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

How Does The Us Media Frame Personal Experiences Of Termination Of Pregnancy, Christina Relacion

Student Works

Limited studies have examined the lived experience of those facing termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomaly in the U.S., particularly after the 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. There exists a body of research elsewhere around the world studying how the media frames these experiences, but little is known about the role American media organizations play as health educators for critical reproductive healthcare topics, such as the termination of pregnancy. This critical analysis sought to understand how the U.S. media frames personal accounts of those who have experienced termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomaly, or …

Validation Of A Brief Measure For Complicated Grief Specific To Reproductive Loss, Cara Buskmiller, Kathryn R Grauerholz, Jennifer Bute, Maria Brann, Michaelene Fredenburg, Jerrie S Refuerzo

Student and Faculty Publications

Objective

Complicated grief reactions follow some pregnancy outcomes, like miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, infant death, selective reduction, or termination of pregnancy. Stigma can delay treatment and worsen outcomes. Screening tools such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale detect complicated grief poorly, and specific tools for prolonged or complicated grief after a reproductive loss are cumbersome. In this study, a five-item questionnaire to detect complicated grief after reproductive loss of any type was designed and preliminary validated.

Methods

A questionnaire patterned after the extensively validated Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ) was created by a group of physicians and lay advocates to employ …

Abortion Decisions As Humanizing Acts: The Application Of Ambivalent Sexism And Objectification To Women-Centered Anti-Abortion Rhetoric, Rachel L. Dyer, Olivia R. Checkalski, Sarah Gervais

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Women-centered anti-abortion rhetoric, grounded in ostensibly positive beliefs that pregnant people are precious objects who must be protected from having abortions, has proliferated anti-abortion activism and legislation. However, abortion stigma, marked by negative perceptions of people who terminate pregnancies, is the most widely used theoretical tool for understanding the social and psychological implications of abortion. In this article, we first integrate these two seemingly contradictory perspectives on abortion through the lens of ambivalent sexism theory. We then argue that ambivalent sexism paves the way for objectifying perceptions and treatment of pregnant people; specifically, our typology of reproductive objectification provides a …

Protecting A Woman’S Right To Abortion During A Public Health Crisis, San Juanita Gonzalez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

As COVID-19 infected our nation, states were quick to issue executive orders restricting various aspects of daily life under the pretense of public safety. It was clear at the outset that certain civil liberties were going to be tested. Among them, the constitutional right to an abortion.

This comment explores Texas’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitations it imposed on abortion access. It will attempt to address the legitimacy of the “public health concerns” listed in executive orders issued throughout numerous states and will discuss the pertinent legal framework and judicial scrutiny to apply.

According to the Fifth …

From Abortion Rights To Reproductive Justice: A Call To Action, Erica Goldblatt Hyatt, Judith L.M. Mccoyd, Mery Diaz

Publications and Research

As aggressive cultural and legislative attacks on abortion rights and access continue, we call upon social workers to pursue the liberatory aims of the reproductive justice (RJ) movement. We argue that the RJ framework, rooted in feminist theory, aligns with social work’s social justice ethos and goals, appropriately guiding advocacy and intervention. After outlining the central aims and tenets of the RJ movement, we consider policies that impair RJ and those that could promote RJ, focusing on enhancing body sovereignty, childbearing, and parenting. We conclude with concrete recommendations for how social workers can pursue RJ professionally and personally.

Pain That Only She Must Bear: On The Invisibility Of Women In Judicial Abortion Rhetoric, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The graphic and bodily facts of a legal question of rights are relevant to the courts, particularly in questions that directly implicate physical bodies and pain, such as right to die cases, or what level of search may be allowable and when. However, in the case of abortion, or more specifically the bodily ramifications of pregnancy and childbirth, this detail is conspicuously absent. This article, relying on a content analysis of over 220 legal opinions on abortion rights, documents this absence of rhetoric. Particularly in the context of other discussions of pain and physical health risks in these very same …

Contraceptive Methods In The United States: The Question Of Abortive Mechanisms, Tara Ferenczy

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the many methods of contraception available in the United States. Although society’s understanding of women’s health has become a major topic, there is still a significant deficit of information regarding how the accessible methods affect women’s bodies, specifically reproductive tissue. The thesis analyzes numerous contraceptive options focusing specifically on the mechanisms of action to determine whether options have abortifacient properties so that readers may develop educated opinions regarding medical and ethical uses. Information involving strengths and limitations of each technique and the effects on both the female body and the reproductive material assist in understanding the process …

A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Abortion Attitudes And Perceptions Among Women Living In Alabama And South Carolina, Anthony Peluso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legal induced abortion is a safe option for terminating a pregnancy for women of reproductive age in the United States (U.S.), though access has varied since the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton cases in 1973. Information is lacking on women’s attitudes toward and perceptions of abortion as well as on related constructs such as pregnancy attitudes and contraceptive use. Exploring these constructs is important in that it can provide much needed context to women’s reproductive life planning. This research aimed to explore perceptions of abortion access and safety and examine the potential associations between attitudes toward abortion access …

Strengthening The Evidence Base For Telehealth For Abortion Service Delivery, Nadi Kaonga

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Telehealth – which is the use of information and communication technology to provide clinical services to patients remotely – provides an opportunity to extend safe abortion services to women. A recent review article on telehealth for abortion service delivery found it to be acceptable, feasible and safe when compared to in-person service delivery. Despite the promising findings, the evidence base can and should be strengthened to optimize the impact of such services for women. Areas for improvement include evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of telehealth implementations in more remote settings and with women across variable levels of technoliteracy, conducting cost-effectiveness …

Laws Restricting Access To Abortion Services And Infant Mortality Risk In The United States, Roman Pabayo, Amy Ehntholt, Daniel M. Cook, Megan Reynolds, Peter Muennig, Sze Yan Liu

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: Since the US Supreme Court′s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, states have enacted laws restricting access to abortion services. Previous studies suggest that restricting access to abortion is a risk factor for adverse maternal and infant health. The objective of this investigation is to study the relationship between the type and the number of state-level restrictive abortion laws and infant mortality risk. Methods: We used data on 11,972,629 infants and mothers from the US Cohort Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Files 2008–2010. State-level abortion laws included Medicaid funding restrictions, mandatory parental involvement, mandatory counseling, mandatory waiting period, and …

“I Don’T Know If I Have The Courage”: Reproductive Choices In Times Of Zika, Ana Rosa Linde Arias, Elisa Tristan-Cheever, Grace Furtado, Eduardo Siqueira

Gastón Institute Publications

Neste estudo transnacional, pretendemos fornecer informações sobre as opiniões e atitudes das mulheres em relação aos seus direitos reprodutivos durante a epidemia do Zika. Mulheres de diferentes nacionalidades e etnias foram recrutadas em vários locais do Brasil, Porto Rico e Estados Unidos. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas que sugerem que as decisões reprodutivas dos participantes estavam intimamente relacionadas às convicções pessoais e crenças culturais, e suas ações e pensamentos foram incorporados em suas normas socioculturais. A maioria das mulheres entrevistadas comunicou que é preciso coragem para tomar a decisão extrema, emocional e esmagadora de fazer um aborto. Os achados deste estudo …

The Politics Of Abortion And Maternal Health: A Discussion Paper, Ihsan Ullah, Ayaz Ayub, Edwin Van Teijlingen

Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM)

Abortion should be legally allowed for women because it can save mothers from childbirth-related complications and death. Legal abortion is one of the safest methods to terminate a pregnancy when there is a risk to the mother’s health by childbirth or severe deformity of the fetus or it is unwanted. Unfortunately, approximately half of all abortions worldwide mostly in nations where abortion is severely restricted and are performed in dangerous settings. These risky abortions are a significant contributor to maternal morbidity and disability. Limiting a woman's access to an abortion does not stop abortion; rather, it just encourages more risky …

Using Evidence To Improve Quality Of Pharmacy-Delivered Medical Abortion, Katharine Footman, Nancy Termini Lachance

Reproductive Health

The goal of family planning and reproductive health operations research is to generate evidence that helps policies and programs maximize access to and quality of services for women and their families. Yet the crucial step of ensuring the utilization of that evidence often receives inconsistent or inadequate attention. The goal of this case study is to document an activity of Marie Stopes International (MSI) in Kenya, part of the STEP UP research program consortium, which resulted in successful evidence utilization. STEP UP research on quality of care for medical abortion, particularly on pharmacy provision of medical abortion, has provided the …

Senegal: Explorer Le Processus De La Collaboration Multisectorielle Mise En Place Pour L’Étude Qualitative, Fatou Mbow, Nafissatou Diop, Awa Diop Dabo, Awa Tounkara Cissé, Seynabou Ba Diakhaté

Reproductive Health

En 2015, STEP UP a mené une étude qualitative sur l’expérience de femmes ayant subi une grossesse non désirée suite à un viol ou inceste dans la région de Dakar, Sénégal, en partenariat avec le Comité de plaidoyer pour l’accès à l’avortement médicalisé, plus connu sous le nom de «Taskforce». L’objectif général de l’étude était de développer une meilleure compréhension de la vie de ces femmes et d’apporter leur voix au débat sur la légalisation de l’avortement médicalisé. Cette étude de cas examine les caractéristiques de la collaboration, comment elle a été efficace, les leçons apprises, et les recommandations formulées …

Drink Me And Abort Your Baby: The Herbal Abortion Tea, Maya Lewis

Capstones

For most of history every abortion was a herbal abortion. Herbal abortion is exactly what it sounds like––a series of herbs that, if taken at the right time, in the right form and dosage, can induce a miscarriage. It's risky, under researched and rarely supported. But with women's clinic dwindling all over the country and a president elect who wants to repeal Roe v. Wade, herbal abortion might soon make a major come back–– for better or worse.

Link to capstone project: https://medium.com/@maya.lewis/drink-me-and-abort-your-baby-the-herbal-abortion-tea-46aadd15f659

L’Expérience De Femmes Ayant Subi Une Grossesse Non Désirée Au Sénégal : Une Étude Qualitative [Compte Rendu De La Rencontre De Partage Des Résultats], Fatou Mbow, Nafissatou Diop, Babacar Mane

Reproductive Health

Dans le cadre du projet Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy (STEP UP), et sur financement de DFID, une étude qualitative a été menée dans la région de Dakar au Sénégal par le Population Council en partenariat avec la Taskforce sur l’expérience des femmes ayant subi une grossesse non désirée suite à un viol ou un inceste pour apporter la voix de ces femmes au débat sur la légalisation de l’avortement médicalisée. Une rencontre plus large, dont ce rapport est la synthèse, a été organisée en janvier 2016 par la Direction de la Santé de la Reproduction et de …

Abortion, Informed Consent, And Regulatory Spillover, Katherine A. Shaw, Alex Stein

Indiana Law Journal

The constitutional law of abortion stands on the untenable assumption that any state’s abortion regulations impact citizens of that state alone. On this understand-ing, the state’s boundaries demarcate the terrain on which women’s right to abortion clashes with state power to regulate that right.

This Article uncovers a previously unnoticed horizontal dimension of abortion regulation: the medical-malpractice penalties imposed upon doctors for failing to inform patients about abortion risks; the states’ power to define those risks, along with doctors’ informed-consent obligations and penalties; and, critically, the possi-bility that such standards might cross state lines. Planned Parenthood v. Casey and other …

Knowledge And Provision Practices Of Misoprostol Among Pharmacies In Senegal, Ramatoulaye Ndao, Nafissatou Diop, Kate Reiss, Eva Burke

Reproductive Health

Marie Stopes International and the Population Council conducted a study on the knowledge and practice of misoprostol provision among pharmacy workers in Senegal, as part of the Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy (STEP UP) research program. This study helped guide strategies for expanding provision and proper delivery in pharmacies of misoprostol, a drug which is highly effective and acceptable for treating postpartum hemorrhage and post-abortion complications. Amplified communication about the product can contribute to an increase in demand from providers in all sectors. However, as demand for the product increases, the supply chain must be strengthened to respond …

Availability, Use And Quality Of Care For Medical Abortion Services In Private Facilities In Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Francis Obare, Edward Ikiugu, Vitalis Akora, Jesse Njunguru, Michael Njuma, Kate Reiss, Harriet Birungi

Reproductive Health

The overall goal of this study was to generate evidence on the availability, use, and quality of care for medical abortion services in private facilities (pharmacies and clinics) in Kenya. With the passing of a new constitution in 2010, there was renewed interest in the right to health and the need to reduce the high levels of maternal morbidity and mortality arising from unsafe abortion in the country. In spite of recent developments, there is limited understanding of the extent to which the changes have influenced the provision of medical abortion information and services in the country, the acceptability of …

Selling Life To Abortion-Seekers: A Content Analysis Of Passive And Active Persuasion In Crisis Pregnancy Center Marketing, Alexander Kocman

Masters Theses

For supporters of the pro-life cause, crisis pregnancy centers (or CPC's) have become the "darlings of the movement," according to the New York Times (Belluck, 2013), offering women with unplanned pregnancies free advice, information, classes, childcare, and needed supplies. For abortion advocates, such establishments are intended to seduce vulnerable abortion-seekers into a situation where they will be counseled out of an abortion and possibly even proselytized. Yet for as much controversy as exists in the news media, medical community, and legal realm about CPC's, there is an unsettling lack of understanding of how--and why--CPC's market themselves the way they do. …

Unintended Pregnancy And Abortion In India: Country Profile Report, Mary Philip Sebastian, M.E. Khan, Daliya Sebastian

Reproductive Health

A review of literature and analysis of large surveys were carried out with funding from the STEP UP consortium led by Population Council to build a coherent body of robust research-based evidence on the situation in India in the context of unmet need for family planning (FP) and safe abortion services. The study found that there is insufficient training of different cadres of health staff in the public health system on abortion provision, post-abortion care, FP counseling of young couples, emergency contraception, and IUD insertion/removal. Despite service delivery guidelines in India expecting providers to provide FP counseling during antenatal visits, …

Access To Emergency Contraception And Safe Abortion Services For Survivors Of Rape: A Review Of Policies, Programmes And Country Experiences In Sub-Saharan Africa, Jill Thompson, Chi-Chi Undie, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

This study examined how pregnancy prevention and management services (specifically, the provision of emergency contraception, pregnancy testing and counseling, and termination or referral for termination of pregnancy services) feature within post-rape care services in sub-Saharan Africa. The study drew on a range of sources via a desk review, as well as on information provided through key informant interviews. The existence of numerous national guidelines in the region demonstrates countries’ desire to respond to this public health and legal challenge. However, if left in their current state, the gaps and inconsistencies observed across most national guidelines contribute to a violation of …

Reducing Unsafe Menstrual Regulation Through Medication In Bangladesh, Ubaidur Rob, Ismat Ara Hena, Nargis Sultana, Md. Irfan Hossain, Reena Yasmin, Tapash Ranjan Das, Farid Uddin Ahmed

Reproductive Health

The Population Council and Marie Stopes Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Family Planning and with funding from the World Health Organization, tested the feasibility of introducing menstrual regulation with medication (MRM) in Bangladesh and assessed the acceptability of providing MRM using the combination drug regimen mifepristone and misoprostol in urban and rural public health facilities. As reported in this policy brief, the study demonstrates that it is feasible and safe to introduce MRM in rural and urban public health facilities. Given the choice, almost two-thirds of women preferred MRM to manual vacuum aspiration and women receiving MRM …

Induced Abortions And Unintended Pregnancies In Pakistan, 2012, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The 2012–13 PDHS (Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey) shows that gains in contraceptive prevalence over the past decade have been small, and unmet need has remained high. Using data from a 2012 national study on post-abortion care, we estimate 2.2 million abortions occurred in Pakistan in 2012, and an annual abortion rate of 50 per 1,000 women. A previous study estimated an abortion rate of 27 for 2002. Even accounting for an underestimation of abortion incidence (private sector abortion services could not be included) in the prior study, the abortion rate in Pakistan has likely increased substantially between 2002 and …

Introducing Medical Mr In Bangladesh: Mrm Final Report, Ismat Ara Hena, Ubaidur Rob, Nargis Sultana, Md. Irfan Hossain, Reena Yasmin, Tapash Ranjan Das, Farid Uddin Ahmed

Reproductive Health

The Population Council Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Family Planning and Marie Stopes Bangladesh, with funding from the World Health Organization and the DFID-supported STEP UP project, conducted an 18-month operations research study from January 2012 to June 2013. This operations research tested the feasibility of introducing menstrual regulation with medication (MRM) in Bangladesh and assessed accessibility of the combination regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol in urban and rural health facilities. Based on this study’s results, the feasibility of introducing MRM services in Bangladesh is clear, and women receiving MRM were satisfied with their overall quality of …

Availability, Use And Quality Of Care For Medical Abortion Services—Preliminary Results Of Two Components: Kiis And The Pharmacy Study, Wilson Liambila, Harriet Birungi, Francis Onyango, Brian Mdawida, Vitalis Akora, Thoai Ngo, Kate Reiss

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Expanding Access To Safe Abortion And Post-Abortion Care: Recommendations Of A South Asia Regional Consultation, Population Council

Reproductive Health

A South Asia Regional Consultation, organized by the Population Council with representation from governments and key stakeholders of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, was held in New Delhi, to discuss ways of expanding women’s access to safe abortion services. The Consultation deliberated on ways of expanding the provider base for safe induced abortion so as to overcome inadequate and inequitable access to safe abortion. They also looked to expand access to services for the management of incomplete abortion and complications of unsafe abortion that persist in the region and, thereby, to reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from unsafe abortion. In …

Profile Of Abortion Seekers In Ghana And Their Decision-Making Processes, Philomena Nyarko, Cletus Adohinzin, Saumya Ramarao, Placide Tapsoba, Ayorinde Ajayi

Reproductive Health

In 2006, a consortium of agencies, including the Population Council, came together to provide technical and financial support to the Government of Ghana in the rollout of comprehensive abortion care (CAC) services. The consortium collaborated with the government in expanding women’s access to modern family planning and CAC. The consortium’s program, Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (R3M), aims to reduce unwanted pregnancy and severe complications and deaths caused by unsafe abortion. The formative research in this report was undertaken to provide a profile of beneficiaries, their needs for information and services, their decision-making process in seeking care, and the quality …

Family Planning And Comprehensive Abortion Care Handbook For Medical Students And House Officers, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The persistently high maternal mortality and morbidity in Ghana is partly due to high rates of unwanted fertility, unsafe abortion, and relatively low use of modern contraception. In 2006, a consortium of agencies, including the Population Council, initiated the Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity program. The program provides financial and technical resources that will enable the government to significantly expand women's access to modern family planning, contraception, and comprehensive abortion care (CAC) to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana. This handbook on FP and CAC was developed as part of the program. It updates a previous document produced more than ten …

Avances En La Atención Postaborto En América Latina Y El Caribe: Investigando, Aplicando Y Expandiendo, Deborah L. Billings, Ricardo Vernon

Reproductive Health

This work by the Population Council and Ipas documents the intellectual, financial, and managerial effort that many organizations and institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean have made to achieve the objective of improving the quality and effectiveness of postabortion care services. This volume is a contribution to the preparation of directors, owners, and service providers, and to the creation and implementation of policies and programs based on scientific evidence, which will benefit women and the services themselves. Its five sections include an overview; results from country studies, and information about providers and program components; clinical care with various technologies, …