What Are the Challenges to Conducting Abortion-Related Research in the United States? 

In June 2024, PRB sat down with four researchers in a webinar, “Data Opportunities and Challenges in a Post-Roe World,” to get their perspectives on questions like “What are the barriers to conducting abortion-related research today?”, “What have we learned from the data so far?”, and “Where are the data gaps and how can we fill them?”

In 2022 the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, ended the constitutional right to an abortion and dramatically changed the health care landscape in the United States. Researchers on abortion, fertility, and reproductive health are working to understand the implications of the Supreme Court decision, including access to care, birth rates, and health outcomes.

Panelists Abigail R.A. Aiken (University of Texas at Austin), Alison Gemmill (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), Laura Lindberg (Rutgers School of Public Health), and Jane Seymour (University of Wisconsin – Madison CORE) shared their related research, discussed the latest data, and answered questions from nearly 130 attendees.

Four key issues emerged from the discussion:

1. Researchers face challenges in accurately measuring self-managed abortions due to respondent privacy concerns—individuals are sometimes wary about answering surveys on abortion care—and the evolving legal landscape surrounding health providers. Although data collection is challenging, research suggests a substantial increase in self-managed abortions following the Dobbs decision, particularly in states with total abortion bans.
2. Traditional data sources like vital statistics and hospitalization data are often outdated or incomplete, making it difficult to accurately measure the impact of abortion restrictions on health outcomes. But emerging data sources, such as provisional birth and death certificate data, hospitalization data, and social media analysis, offer potential for better understanding the effects.
3. Adolescents face unique barriers to abortion access, including legal, financial, and social challenges. Research is needed to better understand their experiences and inform policies to support their needs.
4. Ongoing research is essential to understand the evolving landscape of abortion access and its impact on individuals and communities. Researchers should explore innovative data sources and methodologies to address the challenges of measuring self-managed abortions and other relevant health, social, and economic outcomes. In particular, researchers should address the needs and experiences of adolescents, including their unique challenges and barriers to care.