Abortion

Development of a Conceptual Model and Survey Instrument to Measure Conscientious Objection to Abortion Provision

Laura Florence Harris
John Koku Awoonor-Williams
Caitlin Gerdts
Laura Gil Urbano
Ana Cristina González Vélez
Jodi Halpern
Ndola Prata
Peter Baffoe
2016

Background and objective: Conscientious objection to abortion, clinicians' refusal to perform legal abortions because of their religious or moral beliefs, has been the subject of increasing debate among bioethicists, policymakers, and public health advocates in recent years. Conscientious objection policies are intended to balance reproductive rights and clinicians' beliefs. However, in practice, clinician objection can act as a barrier to abortion access-impinging on reproductive rights, and increasing unsafe abortion and related morbidity and mortality. There is little...

Women’s empowerment related to pregnancy and childbirth: introduction to special issue

Ndola Prata
Paula Tavrow
Ushma Upadhyay
2017

Empowerment is widely acknowledged as a process by which those who have been disempowered are able to increase their self-efficacy, make life-enhancing decisions, and obtain control over resources [1,2,...

Do perceived contraception attitudes influence abortion stigma? Evidence from Luanda, Angola

Ndola Prata
Madeline Blodgett
Karen Weidert
Benjamin Nieto-Andrade
2018

Abortion stigma is influenced by a variety of factors. Previous research has documented a range of contributors to stigma, but the influence of perceived social norms about contraception has not been significantly investigated. This study assesses the influence of perceived social norms about contraception on abortion stigma among women in Luanda, Angola. This analysis uses data from the 2012 Angolan Community Family Planning Survey. Researchers employed multi-stage random sampling to collect demographic, social, and reproductive information from a representative sample of...

Shining the light on abortion: Drivers of online abortion searches across the United States in 2018

Ndola Prata
Sylvia Guendelman
Elizabeth Pleasants
Elena Yon
Alan Hubbard
2020

Context

Legal abortion restrictions, stigma and fear can inhibit people’s voices in clinical and social

settings posing barriers to decision-making and abortion care. The internet allows individuals
to make informed decisions privately. We explored what state-level policy dimensions were
associated with volume of Google searches on abortion and on the abortion pill in 2018.

Methods

We used Google Trends to quantify the relative search volume (RSV) for “abortion” and
“abortion pill” (or “abortion pills” hereafter referred to as “abortion pill”) as a...

In-country availability of medical abortion medicines: a description of the framework and methodology of the WHO landscape assessments

Ulrika Rehnström Loi
Ndola Prata
Amy Grossman
Natalie Williams
Bela Ganatra
Antonella Lavelanet
2023

Background: Availability of quality-assured medical abortion medicines plays a crucial role in providing comprehensive abortion care. However, access to these medicines is still restricted for many abortion seekers. Increasing availability of affordable, quality-assured mifepristone and misoprostol is important to improve access to safe medical abortion services. Driven by the outcomes of a global consultation hosted by the World Health Organization and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency in 2018, we decided to holistically examine access to medical...

Availability of medical abortion medicines in eight countries: a descriptive analysis of key findings and opportunities.

Amy Grossman
Ndola Prata
Natalie Williams
Bela Ganatra
Antonella Lavelane
Laurence Läse
Chilanga Asmani
Hayfa Elamin
Leopold Ouedraogo
Mahmudur Rahman
Musu Julie Conneh‑Duworko
Bentoe Zoogley Tehoungue
Harriet Chanza
Henry Phiri9, Bharat Bhattara
Narayan Prasad Dhakal
Olumuyiwa Adesanya Ojo
Kayode Afolabi
Theopista John Kabuten
Binyam Getachew Hailu
Francis Moses
Sithembile Dlamini‑Nqeketo
Thembi Zulu
Ulrika Rehnström Loi
2023
Background

In recent years a growing number of manufacturers and medical abortion products have entered country markets and health systems, with varying degrees of quality and accessibility. An interplay of factors including pharmaceutical regulations, abortion laws, government policies and service delivery guidelines and provider’s knowledge and practices influence the availability of medical abortion medicines. We assessed the availability of medical abortion in eight countries to increase understanding among policymakers of the need to improve availability and affordability of quality-...

Waiting to start abortion: A qualitative exploration of narratives of waiting shared in a Reddit community for abortion post-Dobbs leak in 2022

Karen Weidert
Ndola Prata
Cassondra Marshall
Emma Anderson
Eliza Dolgins
Lindsay Parham
Ushma D. Upadhyay
Elizabeth Pleasants
2024

With the Dobbs leak introducing uncertainty about access and the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June of 2022 overturning the US constitutional right to abortion, delays in accessing desired abortion care are likely growing longer and more common. Timely research on people’s experiences waiting to access abortion care is needed. Using data from an abortion subreddit (r/abortion), we analyzed posts that described waiting after having decided to terminate the pregnancy, either by having an in-clinic appointment or ordering medication(s) online for self-managed...

Landscape assessment of the availability of medical abortion medicines in India.

Priya Karna
Aparna Sharma
Amy Grossman
Madhur Gupta
Tapas Chatterjee
Natalie Williams
Ndola Prata
Annik Sorhaindo
Laurence Läser
Ulrika RehBela Ganatra
Pushpa Chaudhary
Bela Ganatra
2024

Background: Medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol can be provided up to 63 days' gestation in India. This accounts for 67.5 percent of all abortions in the country. We conducted an assessment to determine the availability of medical abortion medicines, specifically the combi-pack, in India.

Methods: We applied the World Health Organization landscape assessment protocol at the national level. The assessment protocol included a five-step adaptation of an existing availability framework, including online data collection, desk review,...

A descriptive summary of the WHO availability assessments of medical abortion medicines in eight African countries

Amy Grossman
Ndola Prata
Sarah Jones
Laurence Läser
Bela Ganatra
Antonella Lavelanet
Natalie Williams
Chilanga Asmani
Hayfa Elamin
Leopold Ouedraogo
Lucy Sejo Maribe
Dina Vladimirovna Gbenou
Yelmali Clotaire Hien
Moussa Dadjoari
Fousséni Dao
Mariette Claudia Adame Gbanzi
Robert Mulunda Kanke
Franck Biayi Kanumpepa
Dudu Dlamini
Grace Motsoanku Mefane
Sirak Hailu Bantiewalu
Mary Nana Ama Brantuo
Olive Sentumbwe-Mugisa
Richard Mugahi
Olumuyiwa Adesanya Ojo
Adeniyi Kolade Aderoba
Ulrika Rehnström Loi
2024

Background: The use of medical abortion using either a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, or misoprostol alone has contributed to increased safety and decreased mortality and morbidity. The availability of quality medical abortion medicines is an essential component in the provision of quality abortion care. Understanding the factors that influence the availability of medical abortion medicines is important to help in-country policymakers, program planners, and providers improve availability and use of medical abortion.

Methods: Using a...

Maternal mortality estimation methodologies: a scoping review and evaluation of suitability for use in humanitarian settings

Blake Erhardt-Ohren
Sandra I McCoy
Dennis M Feehan
Rohini J Haar
Ndola Prata
2024

Background: Around the world, a maternal death occurs approximately every two minutes-most of these deaths are preventable. The maternal mortality ratio is a key indicator for the Sustainable Development Goals, yet we have no reliable way to estimate maternal deaths in refugee or internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and settlements. The goal of this study was to understand the methodologies most suited for adaptation for use to estimate the proportion of maternal mortality due to abortion complications in these settings.

Methods: We conducted a...