Newswise — Self-managed abortions in the U.S. have increased following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning federal protections on abortion, suggests a new study published today in JAMA Network Open.
Rieham Owda, M.D., clinical assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital, who was not involved with the study, shares comments below:
"The significance of these findings is that we are seeing an increase in the number of people that are self-managing their abortions, especially after the Dobbs decision. The increase is small, 2.4% to 3.3%, but it is still an increase. People may be relying on SMA for a variety of reasons (abortion restrictions within their state, inability to travel for care, risk of criminalization).
As more restrictions go into place we may see a higher number of patients using SMA. Of course, these numbers may not fully represent the extent of SMA since abortion remains a stigmatized topic and people who undergo SMA may not want to report this for many reasons.
I think it is important to know that more people are using SMA and to understand the methods they are using so that if they do present to a healthcare setting, we are able to take care of them and provide them with the care they need. Additionally, SMA was utilized more by minoritized individuals. These individuals may have more barriers to accessing health care and may avoid formal healthcare systems due to medical mistreatment so it’s important to keep this in mind, especially if they were to present to a formal healthcare system for care. Our job is to take care of patients and not criminalize them when they seek care."
RSS