Sociodemographic and Service Use Characteristics of Abortion Fund Cases from Six States in the US Southeast

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Whitney Rice, Emory University; Katie Labgold, Emory University; Quita Tinsley Peterson, Access Reproductive Care Southeast; Megan Higdon, Independent Consultant; Oriaku Njoku, Access Reproductive Care Southeast
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-04-01
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073813
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 7
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was also made possible through the support of Collaborative for Gender and Reproductive Equity, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.; The research project, and research infrastructure were funded with support from an anonymous foundation.; Lastly, K.L. received support through a predoctoral fellowship from the Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE).
• Keywords: state laws; policy; Race; Mortality; pregnancy termination; abortion; Policies; Health; access to health; pregnancy; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; family planning; reproductive justice; Travel; Women; Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; sexual and reproductive health; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Outcomes; Delays; Environmental Sciences
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety; Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Abortion funds are key actors in mitigating barriers to abortion access, particularly in contexts where state-level abortion access restrictions are concentrated. Using 2017–2019 case management data from a regional abortion fund in the southeastern U.S., we described the sociodemographic and service use characteristics of cases overall (n = 9585) and stratified by state of residence (Al-abama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Overall, cases represented people seeking abortion fund assistance who predominately identified as non-Hispanic Black (81%), 18–34 years of age (84%), publicly or uninsured (87%), having completed a high school degree or some college (70%), having one or more children (77%), and as Christian (58%). Most cases involved an in-state clinic (81%), clinic travel distance under 50 miles (63%), surgical abortion (66%), and pregnancy under 13 weeks’ gestation (73%), with variation across states. The median abortion fund contribution pledge was $75 (interquartile range (IQR): 60–100), supplementing median caller contributions of $200 (IQR: 40–300). These data provide a unique snapshot of a population navigating disproportionate, intersecting barriers to abortion access, and abortion fund capacity for social care and science. Findings can inform abortion fund development, data quality improvement efforts, as well as reproductive health, rights and justice advocacy, policy, and research.