What is abortion?
An abortion is a medical procedure used to terminate pregnancy. This can be done two ways: medication or surgery, both of which are extremely safe and effective.
A medication abortion is a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy. It involves taking two pills: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone stops the pregnancy from growing, while misoprostol facilitates the emptying of the uterus.
A procedural abortion is a safe and common in-clinic procedure. In fact, abortion is much safer than many other common clinical procedures such as wisdom tooth removal, cancer-screening colonoscopy, plastic surgery, and surprisingly, pregnancy (6 deaths per 100,000 vs. 330 deaths per 100,000). Dilation and Curettage (D&C) uses gentle section to empty the uterus and is usually used until about 14-16 weeks after your last period. Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) uses gentle section and medical tools to empty the uterus and is usually used later in a pregnancy.
Who receives abortion care?
About one in four people who can get pregnant have an abortion in their lifetime. The idea that only a certain “type” of person gets an abortion is simply false. In reality, abortion is a common experience across all demographics—by age 45, 1 in 4 women will have had an abortion. The majority (55%) are already mothers, and 62% identify with a religious affiliation, demonstrating that people from all walks of life make this decision based on their individual circumstances.
What do abortion bans mean for broader medicine?
Pregnant people in states with abortion bans are seeing worse health outcomes, increased cost of care, and higher health complications. In several cases, people experienced severe infection, organ failure, and loss of ability to bear children. Research has long shown that abortion bans don’t prevent abortions, they only make health outcomes worse for those who have them.
What are some of the key points of a pregnancy timeline?
Abortion access and regulation affect maternal health outcomes, health equity, medical training, and health system capacity. Public health research examines how laws and policies influence these broader population-level effects.
Abortion bans lead to fewer medical services available for all women and people who can get pregnant living in those states.
Doctors are showing — through their words and actions — that they are reluctant to practice in places where providing evidence-based care for a patient could result in huge fines or even a prison sentence. And when clinics that provide abortions close their doors, all the other services offered there also shut down, including regular exams, breast cancer screenings, and access to contraception.
Doctors who want to provide the highest standard of care for their patients and love their communities nonetheless find themselves with few options in abortion ban states but to leave.
What was Roe v. Wade?
In 1973, in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decided that Americans’ right to privacy protected abortion care as a fundamental right. However, the government retained the power to regulate or restrict abortion access depending on the stage of pregnancy.
For the following 49 years, states, health care providers, and citizens fought over what limits the government could place on abortion access, particularly during the second and third trimesters. But abortion was a fundamental right in all 50 states during that period.
For the following 49 years, states, health care providers, and citizens fought over what limits the government could place on abortion access, particularly during the second and third trimesters. But abortion was a fundamental right in all 50 states during that period.
In 2022, six of the nine justices on the US Supreme Court decided that Americans no longer had the right to privacy in making their own decisions about abortion care. Now each state determines whether people in that state have the right to privacy, including abortion care.
Why was Roe v. Wade overturned? What does the Dobbs decision mean?
The 2022 Supreme Court decision returned the authority to regulate abortion to individual states. As a result, abortion laws now vary widely across the U.S., creating differing legal environments that shape how reproductive health care is delivered, taught, and regulated.
What is a typical pregnancy timeline?
Pregnancies typically last an average of 40 weeks, measured from the first day of the person’s last menstrual cycle.
Pregnancy is often discussed as if it follows a uniform timeline, but in reality it is medically dynamic. Risk levels can change rapidly, sometimes within hours or days, even in pregnancies that initially appear healthy. Complications such as infection, hemorrhage, or organ dysfunction can arise without warning.
Are abortions ever medically necessary?
Yes. Abortion is sometimes medically necessary to protect a patient’s life or health, or when a pregnancy complication makes continuation unsafe. This includes cases involving severe infection, dangerous bleeding, ectopic pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes, or conditions where continuing the pregnancy would cause serious harm. In these situations, abortion is part of standard emergency and obstetric care.
How does abortion relate to miscarriage care?
The medications and procedures used in abortion care are often the same ones used to treat miscarriage or fetal demise. For example, dilation and curettage (D&C) and dilation and evacuation (D&E) are common treatments for incomplete miscarriage or retained pregnancy tissue. As a result, restrictions on abortion can also affect how miscarriage care is delivered.
Does abortion affect future fertility?
Abortion does not cause infertility. Evidence shows that safe, legal abortion does not reduce a person’s ability to become pregnant in the future. In contrast, complications from untreated pregnancy conditions or delayed care can threaten future fertility.
How does abortion access affect medical training?
Training in abortion care is closely tied to training in miscarriage management and emergency obstetrics. When abortion training is restricted, medical residents may receive less experience managing pregnancy complications, which can affect the quality and availability of care for all pregnant patients.
