Documenting and exploring a South-North abortion accompaniment model as legal restrictions intensify in the United States
Abortion
Awarded 2022
Inequities in abortion access
Sarah Baum, MPH
Ibis Reproductive Health
$50,000

In the United States (US), the legal landscape around abortion access has already created a health equity crisis that stands to worsen in the coming months. As a result of the shifting legal climate and the enforcement of Senate Bill 8 in Texas, activists in Mexico who provide abortion accompaniment have expanded their capacity to create a south-north accompaniment model which targets undocumented migrants and people of Latin American descent. Accompaniers provide evidence-based information, medication abortion pills, and emotional support to pregnant people to safely end their pregnancy. This project aims to document and explore the south-north abortion accompaniment model. We will conduct a qualitative study to gain a deeper understanding of the decision-making, trajectories to care, and experiences of those who have abortions with accompaniment, and the experiences among the accompaniers who are providing support. We will also conduct a retrospective analysis of extracted data from accompaniment client intake forms to explore trends in contacts over time and to assess who has access to the accompaniment groups, where in the US they are located, and how they are finding the groups. We will triangulate results to create a multi-dimensional view of this new model of support informed by theories of access, quality of care, and the potential outcomes of the Supreme Court decision. Findings will be used to expand and improve the south-north accompaniment model, and will inform how information and support can be best tailored to meet the needs and preferences of individuals under increasingly constrained legal circumstances.