Utah's 72-Hour Waiting Period for Abortion: Experiences Among a Clinic-Based Sample of Women
| Autor: | Ushma D. Upadhyay, Sarah C. M. Roberts, David K. Turok, Sarah Combellick, Elise Belusa |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Gynecology
medicine.medical_specialty Pregnancy 030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine Sociology and Political Science business.industry Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Obstetrics and Gynecology Odds ratio Abortion Social class medicine.disease 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Family planning Family medicine Cohort Abortion Applicants medicine 030212 general & internal medicine business Socioeconomic status reproductive and urinary physiology |
| Zdroj: | Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 48:179-187 |
| ISSN: | 1538-6341 |
| DOI: | 10.1363/48e8216 |
| Popis: | Author(s): Roberts, Sarah CM; Turok, David K; Belusa, Elise; Combellick, Sarah; Upadhyay, Ushma D | Abstract: ContextIn 2012, Utah became the first state to enact a 72-hour waiting period for abortion. Despite debate about the law's potential effects, research has not examined women's experiences with it.MethodsA cohort of 500 women recruited at four family planning facilities in Utah in 2013-2014 completed baseline surveys at the time of an abortion information visit and follow-up telephone interviews three weeks later. Logistic regression and coding of open-ended responses were used to examine which women had abortions and, for those who did not, their reasons.ResultsAmong the 309 women completing follow-up, 86% had had an abortion, 8% were no longer seeking abortion, 3% had miscarried or discovered they had not been pregnant, and 2% were still seeking abortion; one woman was still deciding, and the waiting period had pushed one woman beyond her facility's gestational limit for abortion. At the information visit, women reported little conflict about the abortion decision (mean score on a scale of 0-100 was 13.9 for those who eventually had an abortion and 28.5 for others). Low decisional conflict, but not socioeconomic status, was associated with having an abortion (odds ratio, 1.1). On average, eight days elapsed between the information visit and the abortion.ConclusionAs most women in this cohort were not conflicted about their decision when they sought care, the 72-hour waiting requirement seems to have been unnecessary. Individualized patient counseling for the small minority who were conflicted when they presented for care may have been more appropriate. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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