Socioeconomic Outcomes of Women Who Receive and Women Who Are Denied Wanted Abortions in the United States

Foster, Diana Greene; Biggs, M. Antonia; Ralph, Lauren; Gerdts, Caitlin; Roberts, Sarah C. M.; Glymour, M. Maria

doi:10.2105/ajph.2017.304247

Cited by 174 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The belief expressed by some students that having a child would not change their career goals is inconsistent with findings that women who carry unwanted pregnancies to term are less likely than women who terminate unwanted pregnancies to have and achieve aspirational one‐year plans . However, most female students were very concerned about the impact of childbearing on career goals or poverty, which echoes findings in the literature that unintended childbearing reduces full‐time employment and increases poverty and public assistance …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Pregnancy Intentions, Contraceptive Knowledge And Educational Aspirations Among Community College Students

Cabral

Schroeder²,

Armstrong

et al. 2018

Perspect Sexual Reproductive

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CONTEXT Community college students, representing more than one‐third of U.S. undergraduates, are a diverse population of young people motivated to seek higher education who are at elevated risk of unintended pregnancy. However, it is unknown how well prepared they are to prevent pregnancy and what they think about it in terms of their educational aspirations. METHODS In‐depth interviews were conducted with 57 students aged 18–25, inclusive of all genders, in three community colleges in California in 2015. Content analysis was used to code data and identify themes. RESULTS All participants reported strong desires to prevent pregnancy in the next year and perceived their pregnancy risk as low, but many reported unprotected sex with opposite‐sex partners. Participants had specific timelines for completing their degrees and believed pregnancy would make that far more challenging, but would not ultimately prevent them from achieving their goals. Female students expressed concern about the risks of exacerbated poverty, housing instability and unachieved career goals. Participants had little knowledge of their pregnancy risks and of the health benefits, side effects or effectiveness of contraceptives. They held negative beliefs about hormonal contraception (including emergency contraception, IUDs and the implant), fearing long‐lasting effects and infertility. Gay or bisexual students shared concerns about contraceptives, although several were using methods for noncontraceptive reasons. CONCLUSION Many community college students not desiring pregnancy have limited awareness of pregnancy risk and prevention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Pregnancy Intentions, Contraceptive Knowledge And Educational Aspirations Among Community College Students

Cabral

Schroeder²,

Armstrong

et al. 2018

Perspect Sexual Reproductive

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Longitudinal research among U.S. women who were unable to obtain wanted abortions found that, compared with individuals who had terminated a pregnancy, those who had been denied an abortion and forced to carry to term experienced more debt, had lower credit scores 18 and were more likely to have poverty-level incomes four or more years later. 19 They also experienced more chronic pain, had worse self-reported health 20 and were more likely to experience sustained physical violence from the man involved in the pregnancy. 21 The rights and health of all pregnant individuals are compromised by policies that ban or limit access to abortion under the guise of a public health response to COVID-19.…”

Section: Potential Consequences For Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 Abortion Bans and Their Implications for Public Health

Jones

Lindberg

Witwer

2020

Perspect Sexual Reproductive

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“…There is a substantial and growing body of literature examining impacts of extant restrictive abortion policies and women's experiences of these policies Previous research indicates some restrictive abortion policies-such as gestational limits, laws requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges (and which can lead abortion clinics to close), lack of Medicaid funding to pay for low-income women's abortions, and multiple policies in combination-put abortion out of reach for some women [5][6][7][8][9]. There is also a robust body of research that documents adverse impacts on women and children when women are unable to obtain wanted abortions; these include: economic insecurity, adverse physical health impacts, ongoing violence from the man involved in the pregnancy, and adverse impacts on children's development and maternal bonding [10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex situations: Economic insecurity, mental health, and substance use among pregnant women who consider – but do not have – abortions

Roberts¹,

Berglas²,

Kimport³

2020

PLoS ONE

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We examine characteristics and experiences of women who considered, but did not have, an abortion for this pregnancy. Participants were recruited at prenatal care clinics in Louisiana and Maryland for a mixed-methods study (N = 589). On self-administered surveys and structured interviews, participants were asked if they had considered abortion for this pregnancy and, if so, reasons they did not obtain one. A subset (n = 83), including participants who considered abortion for this pregnancy, completed in-depth phone interviews. Multivariable logistic regression analyses examined characteristics associated with having considered abortion and experiencing a policy-related barrier to having an abortion; analyses focused on economic insecurity and of mental health/substance use as main predictors of interest. Louisiana interviews (n = 43) were analyzed using modified grounded theory to understand concrete experiences of policy-related factors. In regression analyses, women who reported greater economic insecurity (aOR 1.21 [95% CI 1.17, 1.26]) and more mental health diagnoses/substance use (aOR 1.29 [1.16, 1.45] had higher odds of having considered abortion. Those who reported greater economic insecurity (aOR 1.50 [1.09, 2.08]) and more mental health diagnoses/substance use (aOR 1.45 [95% CI 1.03, 2.05] had higher odds of reporting policy-related barriers. Interviewees who considered abortion and were subject to multiple restrictions on abortion identified material and instrumental impacts of policies that, collectively, contributed to them not having an abortion. Many described simultaneously navigating economic insecurity, mental health disorders, substance use, and interpersonal opposition to abortion from family and the man involved in the pregnancy. Current restrictive abortion policies appear to have more of an impact on women who report greater economic insecurity and more mental health diagnoses/substance use. These policies work in concert with each other, with people's individual complex situations-including economic insecurity, mental health, and substance use-and with anti-abortion attitudes of other people to make abortion care impossible for some pregnant women to access.

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Socioeconomic Outcomes of Women Who Receive and Women Who Are Denied Wanted Abortions in the United States

Abstract: Women denied an abortion were more likely than were women who received an abortion to experience economic hardship and insecurity lasting years. Laws that restrict access to abortion may result in worsened economic outcomes for women.

Cited by 174 publications

References 18 publications

Pregnancy Intentions, Contraceptive Knowledge And Educational Aspirations Among Community College Students

Pregnancy Intentions, Contraceptive Knowledge And Educational Aspirations Among Community College Students

COVID‐19 Abortion Bans and Their Implications for Public Health

Complex situations: Economic insecurity, mental health, and substance use among pregnant women who consider – but do not have – abortions

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