Since our founding, the Bixby Center has been one of the few research institutions to unflinchingly address abortion, investigating multidimensional aspects of abortion care in the United States and globally.
The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade opened the floodgates for states to restrict abortion, and threats to abortion access have intensified in the years since. The Bixby Center is committed to working to ensure that people get the training and care they need and advocating for policies that ensure equitable access to care.
Groundbreaking research
The Bixby Center has been a leader in clinical research to develop methods of abortion and improve abortion care.Our research demonstrated the efficacy, safety and acceptability of the combined use of mifepristone and misoprostol for early abortion.
- We have continued to lead clinical trials to improve abortion safety and access. And our researchers are examining the kinds of abortion care people prefer in specific contexts.
- Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) leads innovative, rigorous studies of abortion. ANSIRH’s Turnaway Study examines the mental, emotional, physical and socioeconomic consequences of abortion.
- Katherine Brown, MD, published research centering Black women’s live experiences of abortion.
Training the next generation of abortion providers
Our extensive training programs are helping address the lack of abortion training and integration of family planning into medical education.
- Through our Ryan Residency Training Program, ob-gyn residents have the opportunity to develop clinical and research skills in abortion and contraception. The Ryan Program has helped dozens of ob-gyn residents in states that restrict abortion travel to other states for abortion training.
- Bixby leaders are part of the consortium launching the Reproductive Health Service Corps, an unprecedented statewide initiative to increase access to abortion training and diversity the reproductive helath workforce.
Advocating for abortion access
- Our members helped shape the California Future of Abortion Council’s recommendations to prepare the state for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and testified in support of bills in the council’s legislative package.
- Bixby's research informed California law acknowledging that nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants can safely perform early abortions.