Reduced Abortion Access

The Impact of Reduced Abortion Access on Minor Adolescents

Abortion is a safe and essential component of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care. Following the United States Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 that struck down Roe v. Wade, the movement to restrict abortion access in many states will severely limit reproductive freedom for pregnancy-capable people. Individuals and communities, particularly those marginalized because of race/ethnicity, gender identity, income inequality, immigration status, and/or age, face barriers to reproductive health equity, and these policy changes exacerbate an already unjust reproductive health care landscape. This article highlights abortion access barriers specific to minor adolescents (those aged <18 years) and proposes strategic responses adolescent healthcare communities can enact.

The Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine and six other organizations stated opposition to restrictions on the reproductive rights and care of adolescents and young adults, including access to abortion. These statements recognize abortion as a basic human right [отлично от поездок в Европу, которые суть привилегия] and fundamental to adolescent SRH. They call to normalize abortion as an essential component of comprehensive SRH care, educate policymakers on adolescent developmental capacity to make safe and informed reproductive health decisions, and advocate for improved access to adolescent contraception, sexual health education, and structural initiatives to promote opportunity and health equity among marginalized adolescents.

Those who provide health care for minor adolescents must understand the great impact restricted abortion access will have on minors and provide strategic responses. Although pregnancy and birth rates declined over the past 30 years, adolescents aged ≤19 years (the standard age range reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) account for approximately 9% of individuals who obtain abortions. Although these numbers represent a minority of those seeking abortions, this translates into at least 50,000 adolescents aged ≤19 years needing abortion services annually, with some estimates being nearly double that. Adolescents have the highest abortion ratio of any age group (851 per 1,000 live births for those aged < 15 years and 332 per 1,000 live births for 15- to 19-year-olds compared with 260 per 1,000 live births for 20- to 24-year-olds). When adolescents do not have access to comprehensive reproductive care, unmet needs lead to negative health and social consequences that may persist across the life course

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Elevating the Needs of Minor Adolescents in a Landscape of Reduced Abortion Access in the United States

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