The Abortion Fight: Neither Worn nor Won

This paper includes a narrative intended to allow readers to embody a kind of ‘pregnancy panic’ often overlooked in the politics of reproductive rights. In an issue revolving around the biological anatomy of the person, their own feelings, needs, and experiences are not often weighed in the arguments. Through this narrative’s character, readers can reconnect to the humanity of fear and bridge a better understanding that abortion is not a gleeful murder but a necessity for survival and medical agency.

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Your Abortion is in the Mailbox: A Study of Abortion Seekers’ Understanding of their Choices in 2023

Manns, Sara (2023-12-17)

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Clinic, overturning its 1973 decision in Roe and allowing states to regulate abortion. Twelve states immediately criminalized abortion care, precipitating chaos around the country. In Texas, abortion clinics had closed in September 2021, causing patients to travel to Oklahoma and beyond. Oklahoma's clinics closed in May 2022. After Dobbs, residents of Oklahoma and Texas joined residents of three other states seeking limited clinic appointments in access states like Kansas, Illinois and Colorado. More than 50% of these appointments were for medication abortions. Due to changes in federal regulations about telehealth care, abortion pills could also be ordered online, letting prospective patients obtain the same pills available in clinics at home, without travel. The goal of this study is to understand why abortion-seekers from Texas and Oklahoma chose to travel long distances for their pills, instead of ordering online. Clinic patients were surveyed to answer the research question: What do women who choose to travel to a clinic for medication abortion, from their homes in states where it is extra-legal or illegal, believe about telemedicine and clinic provision? The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of SUNY Empire State University. Data was collected April-June 2023 at a medication abortion clinic in Kansas. Adult residents of Texas or Oklahoma who traveled to the clinic for a medication abortion were offered a survey during their visit. The survey collected demographics and asked which alternatives the patient considered to end the pregnancy, which factors influenced their decision to travel to the clinic, and whether they thought that mailing abortion pills for home use is legal in their state. If they considered a method using mail-order pills (abortion pills online or telehealth), they were asked why they decided against it. Findings indicate that speed to appointment date was the top priority for the patients sampled; at the time of data collection, mail-order pills could take up to three weeks to arrive. Legality of the clinic appointment was also a concern for a majority. Privacy was a secondary concern. Seeing a doctor, the defining feature of a clinic visit, did not seem important. While many respondents were concerned about the legality of ordering pills for home use, most were confused about whether it was legal in their state. Based on these findings, policy implications of the shift to self-managed abortion and the impact of abortion access on public health outcomes are explored. Policy recommendations are offered to support access to abortion, despite criminalization of abortion practice in 13 states. Further study is needed to understand what information and messaging informs potential users of at-home abortion about their options.
Abortion: Silencing of Women’s Experiences

Stanton, Molly; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2013-07-28)

The abortion debate, most known for drastic use of the terms “pro-life” and “pro-choice”, is visible throughout the media. Slogans tend to target those considering abortion in varying negative and positive manners. Laws and language play a large part in skewing and silencing women’s voices, decisions and experiences. Without capturing and understanding that women live very different lives, the abortion debate may remain silent of women’s voices. My research seeks to discover why women have abortions, how they are judged and by whom, and where their voices get lost.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS ABORTION HAS ON WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH

DeNigris, Amanda R. (2023)

Abstract Background: One of the most controversial topics in today's society revolves around abortion. The big question is whether it is constitutional or not. What people don’t seem to look at is what effects, if any, does it have on the women who have to go through it. If so is there anything being done to help? Objective: The study aims to research if abortion has any negative effects on a women's mental health. If it is proven to have negative effects, what research is being done, and what help is being offered to the women going through it? Design and Method: The research method is based on peer-reviewed literature consisting of scholarly articles, journals, and first-hand accounts. The research performed is qualitative and includes literature from 2000 to 2021. Research groups involving people who’ve experienced abortion were studied and the conclusions for those studied are recorded in the results section. The main research questions are: Does abortion have negative effects on mental health? What are the mental health effects abortion has on women? What help is being offered, if any, for people who have gone through abortions? Results: This study concluded that abortion does indeed have negative effects on women's mental health and more help and research are needed for this topic Conclusion: Abortion does prove to be a very controversial topic, and while everyone does deserve to have their own opinion on it, it is unfair to let these problems go unnoticed and untreated: these women require help. By helping them we can tackle a part of the mental health epidemic and get rid of some stigma around it.