Abortion service availability during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a national census of abortion facilities in the U.S

Shelly Kaller; M G Isabel Muñoz; Subeksha Sharma; Salma Tayel; Chris Ahlbach; Clara Cook; Ushma D Upadhyay

doi:10.1016/j.conx.2021.100067

Abortion service availability during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a national census of abortion facilities in the U.S

Contracept X. 2021:3:100067. doi: 10.1016/j.conx.2021.100067. Epub 2021 Jul 6.

Authors

Shelly Kaller¹, M G Isabel Muñoz¹, Subeksha Sharma², Salma Tayel³, Chris Ahlbach¹, Clara Cook¹, Ushma D Upadhyay¹

Affiliations

¹ Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, Oakland, CA, United States.
² University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, CA, United States.
³ Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States.

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 on abortion services in all 50 United States states and the District of Columbia.

Study design: ANSIRH's Abortion Facility Database is a systematic collection of data on all publicly-advertising abortion facilities in the United States, updated annually through online searches and mystery shopper phone calls. Research staff updated the database in May-August 2020, assessing the number of facilities that closed, limited or stopped providing abortions, and provided telehealth options in summer 2020 due to COVID-19. We describe these changes using frequencies and highlighting themes and examples from coded qualitative data.

Results: Located primarily in the South and Midwest, 24 of 751 facilities that were open in 2019 temporarily closed due to the pandemic, with 9 still closed by August 2020. Other facilities described suspending abortions, referring abortion patients to other facilities, or limiting services to medication abortion. While most facilities required in-person visits for reasons like state abortion restrictions, 22% (n = 150) offered phone or telehealth consultations, no-test visits, or medication abortion by mail to reduce or eliminate patient time in the clinic. Some facilities used creative strategies to reduce COVID-19 risk like allowing patients to wait for visits in their cars or offering drive-through medication pick-up.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic caused several disruptions to abortion service availability, including closures. To reduce in-person visit time, some clinics shifted to offering medication abortion (versus procedural) or telehealth. While the pandemic and abortion restrictions increased barriers to abortion provision, facilities were resilient and adapted to provide safe care for their patients.

Implications: Barriers to abortion access were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in areas of the country with more restrictive policies toward abortion. Telehealth care protocols offered by many abortion facilities provide an option to reduce or eliminate in-person visits.

Keywords: Abortion; Abortion facilities; Covid-19; Telehealth; Telemedicine.