Abortion access in a post-Dobbs southeast US: Changing geospatial patterns, disparities, and the experience of traveling for care
Abortion
Awarded 2024
Uta Landy Complex Family Planning Scholars
Kelsey Loeliger, MD, PhD
University of California, San Diego
$7,500

Dr. Loeliger is from Baltimore, Maryland, and received her MD from the Yale School of Medicine and PhD from the Yale School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology. She completed her OB/GYN residency at University of California, San Francisco and is now completing her Complex Family Planning fellowship at University of California, San Diego. She has experience in basic science, translational, and epidemiological research including quantitative and qualitative methods. Her dissertation, for which she was awarded an NIH F30 training grant, focused on optimizing HIV care for marginalized populations including individuals living in rural South Africa, women with substance use disorders in Malaysia, individuals impacted by the Connecticut carceral system, and gender-diverse individuals. Dr. Loeliger now aims to use her expertise in large database analysis and qualitative research to conduct a mixed-methods study of abortion access in the Southeast US in relation to Dobbs. North Carolina abortion case data will be used to conduct an in-depth quantitative and geospatial exploration of changing patterns in abortion utilization, including racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. Qualitative interviews with abortion fund clients will further inform our understanding of the barriers and outcomes experienced by individuals seeking abortion in the Southeast. Evaluating the patterns of and disparities in abortion care provided in North Carolina in the context of state restrictions within North Carolina and in adjacent Southeastern states will help to demonstrate the impact of Dobbs on abortion access and can inform the strategic provision of clinical services and funding for abortion fund organizations.