Research on whether abortion causes mental health problems has largely been conducted on women having surgical abortions. And the rigorous science that we rely on to understand this association does not address whether those having medication abortions have different mental health consequences or experiences relative to those having surgical abortions. Thus, we do not have ...Read more >

People face multiple barriers to abortion care in the United States; barriers that are intensified for medication abortion due to a narrow gestational eligibility window, and burdensome federal distribution restrictions. Yet, due to limitations of common research recruitment strategies, existing research may systematically miss or underestimate the extent to which certain populations are underserved by ...Read more >

Research has shown that deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals have limited health literacy. DHH women also encounter significant barriers to receiving appropriate reproductive healthcare services and health information. While there is limited data on the sexual health behaviors of DHH individuals, they are more likely than the general population to have had two or more ...Read more >

There are only three surgical abortion providers in Buffalo, the second largest city in New York State (NYS) after New York City; ensuring access to medication abortion services in this region is paramount to mitigate reduced access to surgical procedures. Buffalo has also seen a 95% increase in the foreign-born population from 2006-2013, including resettled ...Read more >

Despite significant expansion in utilization of medication abortion (MA) in the last decade, several factors, including later discovery of pregnancy, desire for privacy, and delays introduced by parental involvement (PI) requirements, may create barriers for young people ages 13 to 22 from benefiting from this expansion. As an academic-community partnership with the Colorado Organization for ...Read more >

Medication abortion holds the potential to radically expand and equalize access. However, abortion stigma has worked in numerous ways to limit access to this essential technology — undergirding over-regulation, confusing the public, and contributing to a narrative that abortion done outside the clinical setting, even with safe and effective medication, is or should be a ...Read more >

Evidence suggests there is unmet demand for medication abortion and that patients highly value a choice of abortion method. Cost is a significant barrier to abortion access and can create delays in accessing early abortion care, pushing patients beyond eligibility for medication abortion. To reduce financial barriers and associated delays, reproductive health advocates have argued ...Read more >

Almost no research to date has examined the abortion needs of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), though existing data suggest that abortion incidence among AAPI women may be relatively high. There are likely significant opportunities to increase access to medication abortion to AAPIs, but there is evidence needed to document the knowledge of, attitudes ...Read more >

There is limited evidence supporting a highly effective medication regimen for outpatient medical abortion services at 11 and 12 weeks of gestation. Currently people seeking services at these gestational ages are generally limited to aspiration, and may need to travel farther to find a facility that provides this service. Having a reliable regimen for mifepristone-misoprostol ...Read more >

Background: While medication abortion has the potential to expand abortion access, barriers persist. One such barrier may be locating a provider. Research has shown that individuals commonly use the internet to self-refer for abortion services. However, we have previously shown that the quality of information available online for abortion self-referral is low, and it is ...Read more >