Abstract
BackgroundIntimate partner violence is common among women having abortions, with between 6% and 22% reporting recent violence from an intimate partner. Concern about violence is a reason some pregnant women decide to terminate their pregnancies. Whether risk of violence decreases after having an abortion, remains unknown.MethodsData are from the Turnaway Study, a prospective cohort study of women seeking abortions at 30 facilities across the U.S. Participants included women who: presented just prior to a facility’s gestational age limit and received abortions (Near Limit Abortion Group, n = 452), presented just beyond the gestational limit and were denied abortions (Turnaways, n = 231), and received first trimester abortions (First Trimester Abortion Group, n = 273). Mixed effects logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between receiving versus being denied abortion and subsequent violence from the man involved in the pregnancy over 2.5 years.ResultsPhysical violence decreased for Near Limits (adjusted odds ratios (aOR), 0.93 per month; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.90, 0.96), but not Turnaways who gave birth (P < .05 versus Near Limits). The decrease for First Trimesters was similar to Near Limits (P = .324). Psychological violence decreased for all groups (aOR, 0.97; CI 0.94, 1.00), with no differential change across groups.ConclusionsPolicies restricting abortion provision may result in more women being unable to terminate unwanted pregnancies, potentially keeping them in contact with violent partners, and putting women and their children at risk.
Highlights
Intimate partner violence is common among women having abortions, with between 6% and 22% reporting recent violence from an intimate partner
The New Zealand study assessed intimate partner violence (IPV) from any intimate partner, not necessarily from the man involved in the pregnancy (MIP)
A smaller proportion of women in the Turnaway No Birth Group than in the Near Limit Abortion Group reported a history of child abuse/neglect and growing up in a household with someone with a drinking or drug problem
Summary
Intimate partner violence is common among women having abortions, with between 6% and 22% reporting recent violence from an intimate partner. Experiencing violence, especially from intimate partners, is common among women having abortions, with 6% to 22% reporting recent violence from an intimate partner [1,2,3,4,5]. Whether having an abortion allows women to evade intimate partner violence (IPV) remains unknown. One prospective study in New Zealand found elevated levels of past year IPV among women who had abortions compared to women who gave birth and no differences between women who had abortions and women who had not been pregnant [10]. The New Zealand study assessed IPV from any intimate partner, not necessarily from the man involved in the pregnancy (MIP). Focusing on the MIP is important because this is the person to whom a woman would be linked if she carried the pregnancy to term
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