| Title |
Access to abortion under the heath exception: a comparative analysis in three countries
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Reproductive Health, June 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s12978-018-0548-x |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Stephanie A. Küng, Blair G. Darney, Biani Saavedra-Avendaño, Patricia A. Lohr, Laura Gil |
| Abstract |
Despite Britain, Colombia, and some Mexican states sharing a health exception within their abortion laws, access to abortion under the health exception varies widely. This study examines factors that result in heterogeneous application of similar health exception laws and consequences for access to legal abortion. Our research adds to previous literature by comparing implementation of similar abortion laws across countries to identify strategies for full implementation of the health exception. We conducted a cross-country comparative descriptive study synthesizing data from document and literature review, official abortion statistics, and interviews with key informants. We gathered information on the use and interpretation of the health exception in the three countries from peer-reviewed literature, court documents, and grey literature. We next extracted public and private abortion statistics to understand the application of the law in each setting. We used a matrix to synthesize information and identify key factors in the use of the law. We conducted in-depth interviews with doctors and experts familiar with the health exception laws in each country and analyzed the qualitative data based on the previously identified factors. The health exception is used broadly in Britain, somewhat in Colombia, and very rarely in Mexican states. We identified five factors as particularly salient to application of the health exception in each setting: 1) comprehensiveness of the law including explicit mention of mental health, 2) a strong public health sector that funds abortion, 3) knowledge of and attitudes toward the health exception law, including guidelines for physicians in providing abortion, 4) dissemination of information about the health exception law, and 5) a history of court cases that protect women and clarify the health exception law. The health exception is a valuable tool for expanding access to legal abortion. Differences in the use of the health exception as an indication for legal abortion result in wide access for women in Britain to nearly no access in Mexican states. Our findings highlight the difference between theoretical and real access to legal abortion. The interpretation and application of the health exception law are pivotal to expanding real access to abortion. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profile of 1 X user who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 102 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 102 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 17 | 17% |
| Student > Master | 13 | 13% |
| Researcher | 9 | 9% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 7 | 7% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 6 | 6% |
| Other | 16 | 16% |
| Unknown | 34 | 33% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 18 | 18% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 16 | 16% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 14 | 14% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 5 | 5% |
| Psychology | 4 | 4% |
| Other | 10 | 10% |
| Unknown | 35 | 34% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 14. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 October 2019.
All research outputs
#2,309,889
of 23,090,520 outputs
Outputs from Reproductive Health
#233
of 1,426 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#50,568
of 328,585 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Reproductive Health
#12
of 50 outputs
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