By Laura Rahm, Silvia de Zordo, Joanna Mishtal, Giulia Zanini, Camille Garnsey, Derek Clougher & Caitlin Gerdts This is the first study contrasting the experience of women residing in France and traveling for abortion services inside and outside their country of residence. Based on the main findings of a mixed-methods research project funded by […]
Category: abortion
Bereavement Leave After Abortions: How New Zealand Missed Out
By Dr Nathan Hodson The UK has introduced the world’s first bereavement leave for people bereaved by abortion. I have described this in my new article in BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health, titled “The UK Government Created Statutory Bereavement Leave for Abortions After 24 Weeks and Should Acknowledge It”. In this blog I want to […]
When Basic Information is Not Enough: The Case for Expanding Ireland’s Abortion Helpline
By Dr Lorraine Grimes, Aideen O’Shaughnessy, Dr. Rachel Roth, Anna Carnegie and Dr Deirdre Duffy In 2018, the people of Ireland voted to remove the Eighth Amendment from the Irish Constitution, lifting the ban on abortion. This made way for legislation, and legal abortion became available from January 2019. An information and support helpline called […]
UK medical students’ perspectives on their abortion teaching
By Dr Corrina Horan Abortion is a very common gynaecological procedure, with an estimated 1 in 3 women undergoing an abortion in mainland UK within their reproductive lifetime. Despite the common nature of abortion, it is a subject surrounded by stigma – a US study found that the majority of people, 1 week following an […]
Telemedicine abortion in Italy: before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Dr Karin Brandell In Italy, abortion is legal up to 90 days of pregnancy but with restrictions that pose barriers to the service, including widespread conscientious objection and an obligatory waiting period of 7 days. Italy was one of the first countries hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with multiple restrictions imposed on the public […]
Abortion Bereavement Leave is Part of Abortion Care
By Dr Nathan Hodson Last week, changes to the bereavement policy for employees at the City of Portland, Oregon, emerged. Under the new bereavement leave policy, employees of the city government are eligible for bereavement leave following pregnancy loss, and pregnancy loss is defined broadly to include termination of pregnancy. This reflects a striking evolution […]
The indirect costs of the pandemic: disruption to contraception services and rise in unplanned pregnancies in the UK
By Dr Neerujah Balachandren and Dr Jennifer Hall One year into the pandemic, the U.N. Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency (UNFPA) estimated 12 million women in low and middle-income countries may have been unable to access family planning services. 1 It has been estimated that as many as 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies may have occurred […]
“As the COVID-19 pandemic shifts the architecture of choice in abortion care, we must continue to accommodate patient preferences.”
By Rebecca Blaylock and Dr Shelly Makleff Our new research1 shows what factors contribute to shaping people’s preferences for the sort of abortion they want. For example, patients may be influenced by a previous good abortion experience they hope to emulate again, they may be worried about privacy issues in shared housing, or they might […]
US abortion rights under attack: before, during, and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic
By Malia Maier, Goleen Samari, and Terry McGovern In 1973, in Roe v. Wade, the United States (US) Supreme Court affirmed that access to safe and legal abortion is a constitutional right. However, abortion rights in the US have since been under fierce attack. In the 48 years since Roe, state legislatures have enacted 1,320 […]
Crisis Pregnant Centers Are Not Essential Healthcare, Yet Stayed Open As COVID-19 Spread in the U.S.
By Jenifer McKenna, Tara Murtha, Kim C. Clark, Christy L. Hall, Wendy Lee Basgall, Amy C. Poyer and Laura E. Dodge In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly spread across the United States, a singular question emerged: What are essential services? The answer to this critical question shaped COVID-19 response efforts and the trajectory […]