Annual Report 2014-2015 > Abortion

The Bixby Center is one of the few research institutions to unflinchingly address abortion, investigating multidimensional aspects of abortion care in the United States and globally. Here are some of our noteworthy achievements in abortion over the past year:
 
  • Major complications from abortion are rare, occurring in less than 1⁄4 of 1 percent of procedures. This is about the same as for colonoscopy, and less than wisdom teeth removal and tonsillectomy.1
  • We conducted the largest longitudinal study on women’s health and well-being immediately following and up to 3 years after either having an abortion or being denied one. We found that women who received an abortion had similar or lower levels of depression than women denied one, and that more than 95 percent of women believe that abortion was the right decision for them.2,3
  • We have continued to improve the safety of abortion care. We recently showed that obesity does not increase women’s risk of complications in later abortion.4
  • Each year in the US, nearly 150,000 pregnant women are diagnosed with a fetal anomaly. We’re working to understand what type of abortion care they prefer, and how the care they receive affects their grief and coping.5

One of the few recent state laws expanding access to abortion care was grounded in Bixby research. California affirmed that nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants can safely perform early abortions.6

To learn more about our programs working in abortion, see Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, the Fellowship in Family Planning, Innovating Education in Reproductive Health and the Kenneth J. Ryan Residency Program.

To help us continue making an impact on abortion policies, research and care, make a gift to the Bixby Center.

 

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Abortion