April 27, 2023

In an increasingly restrictive post-Roe reality, more pregnant people will need to rely on telehealth models for medication abortion and self-sourcing pills online. However, as with other expansions in access to reproductive healthcare, there is concern that young people will not be trusted to use these expanded models of care that require self-reporting of pregnancy duration. A new study from ANSIRH found that young people ages 15-19 are able to accurately self-assess the duration of their pregnancy compared to those in other age groups.

People ages 15-19 who were seeking abortion were able to accurately self-assess how far along they were in their pregnancies at rates comparable to older people by using self-administered survey questions. Questions included asking about the date of their last menstrual period and the number of weeks pregnant, with results good and comparable between adolescents, young adults, and older adults.

These findings show that in addition to adults, adolescents can self-assess how far along they are in pregnancy using a history-based screening. The results suggest that adolescents should have access to medication abortion through telehealth and virtual visits, which are becoming increasingly more common and typically do not require an ultrasound.