Reproductive care, including abortion, facing challenges

Photo: Luis Alvarez/Getty Images

Reproductive care is becoming more difficult for women to access, and that's especially true in the case of abortion care, finds a new Wisp survey. Over the last decade, about 20% of women tried to access abortion services, but a third of them faced barriers ranging from cost to lack of insurance, and legal restrictions in some states.

The survey is a snapshot of reproductive care in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the legal precedent that for decades had enshrined the right to abortion. In a 5-4 vote the Justices ruled that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, and that regulating abortion should be reverted back to the states.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

According to the survey, 14% of those who said they were unable to access an abortion cited cost concerns and legal restrictions. Of those who were able to access abortion care, 33% still faced challenges, primarily cost concerns and lack of insurance.

Birth control access and access to emergency contraception are two ways to reduce rates of abortion by reducing the risk of unplanned pregnancy. But 14% of women surveyed said they have struggled to access emergency contraception. That number rises to 19% when focusing on women ages 18-24.

Overall, people in the U.S. feel more negative than positive about the state of access to women's reproductive health, especially in the Northeast, where 41% had negative views. Generation Z women have the most negative outlook: Forty-three percent of those aged 18-24 said their outlook was negative.

While the birth control pill and the condom are still some of the most popular (and most affordable) forms of pregnancy prevention, 17% of women rely on the Intrauterine Device, or IUD, the survey found. 

But while female patients have discussed the pain of IUD insertion for decades, only recently has the CDC issued new recommendations around pain management, calling for doctors to inform their patients about local anesthetic lidocaine available to take the edge off the procedure.

THE LARGER TREND

Nine months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, data collected by the Society of Family Planning found there were nearly 26,000 fewer abortions performed in the U.S. during that stretch as compared to the pre-Dobbs average.

Abortion had been increasing in the U.S. since 2017, and abortion rates were increasing in the months before the Dobbs decision, according to the report. The national abortion rate decreased from 13.4 per 1,000 women of reproductive age in April 2022 to 12.6 per 1,000 women for the monthly average of abortions in the nine months following the Dobbs decision.

Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.