Annamarie L. Beckmeyer, Jeremy A. Brenner‐Levoy, B. Jessie Hill, Tamika C. Odum, Abigail Norris Turner, Alison H. Norris, Danielle Bessett, Katherine L. Rivlin
{"title":"Understanding abortion legality and trimester of abortion care in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, three abortion‐restrictive states","authors":"Annamarie L. Beckmeyer, Jeremy A. Brenner‐Levoy, B. Jessie Hill, Tamika C. Odum, Abigail Norris Turner, Alison H. Norris, Danielle Bessett, Katherine L. Rivlin","doi":"10.1111/psrh.12284","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionIn the era of Dobbs, legality of abortion care in the United States depends upon state law. Even before Dobbs, while abortion remained legal mounting restrictions and debate surrounding legal abortion could have led to confusion about abortion legality and discouraged patients from accessing legal abortion. We hypothesized an association between believing abortion is illegal or uncertainty about legality with later timing of abortion care.MethodsWe surveyed patients seeking abortion care in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky from April 2020 to April 2021. We asked about their understanding of abortion legality at the time they were first deciding to have an abortion. Using unconditional logistic regression models, we examined associations between beliefs about abortion legality (measured as belief that abortion is legal or sometimes legal versus. illegal or unsure) and timing of abortion care (measured as trimester of abortion).ResultsOver half (57%) of the 1,479 patients who met eligibility criteria and completed the survey believed abortion was always legal, 21% thought abortion was sometimes legal, 12% believed abortion was illegal, and 10% did not know. Most (92%) had a first trimester abortion (<14 weeks gestation). Belief that abortion was illegal, or uncertainty about abortion legality, was not significantly associated with second trimester abortion care (unadjusted odds ratio [uOR]: 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50–1.20). This association did not change meaningfully after adjusting for demographic and clinical variables (adjusted OR [aOR]: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.51–1.33).DiscussionMore than one in five patients presenting for abortion care in three abortion‐restrictive states prior to Dobbs erroneously believed that abortion was illegal or were unsure. Understanding of legality was not significantly associated with timing of abortion care. These misunderstandings could escalate under Dobbs.","PeriodicalId":47632,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/psrh.12284","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DEMOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
IntroductionIn the era of Dobbs, legality of abortion care in the United States depends upon state law. Even before Dobbs, while abortion remained legal mounting restrictions and debate surrounding legal abortion could have led to confusion about abortion legality and discouraged patients from accessing legal abortion. We hypothesized an association between believing abortion is illegal or uncertainty about legality with later timing of abortion care.MethodsWe surveyed patients seeking abortion care in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky from April 2020 to April 2021. We asked about their understanding of abortion legality at the time they were first deciding to have an abortion. Using unconditional logistic regression models, we examined associations between beliefs about abortion legality (measured as belief that abortion is legal or sometimes legal versus. illegal or unsure) and timing of abortion care (measured as trimester of abortion).ResultsOver half (57%) of the 1,479 patients who met eligibility criteria and completed the survey believed abortion was always legal, 21% thought abortion was sometimes legal, 12% believed abortion was illegal, and 10% did not know. Most (92%) had a first trimester abortion (<14 weeks gestation). Belief that abortion was illegal, or uncertainty about abortion legality, was not significantly associated with second trimester abortion care (unadjusted odds ratio [uOR]: 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50–1.20). This association did not change meaningfully after adjusting for demographic and clinical variables (adjusted OR [aOR]: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.51–1.33).DiscussionMore than one in five patients presenting for abortion care in three abortion‐restrictive states prior to Dobbs erroneously believed that abortion was illegal or were unsure. Understanding of legality was not significantly associated with timing of abortion care. These misunderstandings could escalate under Dobbs.
期刊介绍：
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health provides the latest peer-reviewed, policy-relevant research and analysis on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States and other developed countries. For more than four decades, Perspectives has offered unique insights into how reproductive health issues relate to one another; how they are affected by policies and programs; and their implications for individuals and societies. Published four times a year, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health includes original research, special reports and commentaries on the latest developments in the field of sexual and reproductive health, as well as staff-written summaries of recent findings in the field.
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