Abstract
Purpose
The literature on partners and abortion focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV)
and risk for abortion, and partners' control of women's abortion decisions. This paper
examines how partners figure in women's abortion decisions, and identifies factors
associated with identifying partner as a reason (PAR) for abortion.
Methods
Baseline data were used from the Turnaway Study, a longitudinal study among women
(n = 954) seeking abortion at 30 U.S. facilities between 2008 and 2010. Mixed methods
were used. Data were analyzed using thematic coding and logistic regression.
Findings
Nearly one third of women reported PAR for abortion. Three most common partner-related
reasons were poor relationships, partners unable/unwilling to support a baby, and
partner characteristics that made them undesirable to have a baby with. Eight percent
who mentioned PAR identified having abusive partners as a reason for abortion. One
woman in this subgroup reported being pressured by her partner to seek abortion, whereas
others in this subgroup sought abortion to end abusive relationships or to avoid bringing
children into abusive relationships. Factors associated with identifying PAR for seeking
abortion included race, education, partner's pregnancy intentions, relationship with
man involved in the pregnancy, and experience of IPV.
Conclusion
Women make decisions to terminate pregnancies considering the quality of the relationship
with and potential support they will receive from the man involved. Even women who
report IPV, who may be vulnerable to coercion, report their motivation for the abortion
is to end an abusive relationship, rather than coercion into abortion.
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Biography
Karuna S. Chibber, DrPH, is a public health social scientist with Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) at the UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. Her research focuses on the intersection of intimate partner violence and women's health.
Biography
M. Antonia Biggs, PhD, is a senior researcher at the UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. Her research focuses on the evaluation of reproductive health programs, access to family planning services, abortion, and unintended pregnancy.
Biography
Sarah C.M. Roberts, DrPH, is a public health social scientist at ANSIRH. She studies policy and social determinants of women's health, with a focus on alcohol and drug use in the context of pregnancy, parenting, and reproductive health.
Biography
Diana Greene Foster, PhD, a demographer, is the principal investigator of the Turnaway Study, Director of Research at ANSIRH, and an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF.
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 21,
2013
Received in revised form:
October 20,
2013
Received:
December 21,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
