A new study by Dr. Katherine A. Rafferty of Iowa State University and Tessa Longbons from the Charlotte Lozier Institute titled “#AbortionChangesYou: A Case Study to Understand the Communicative Tensions in Women’s Medication Abortion Narratives” was published in the journal Health Communications on June 1, 2020. With medication abortions on the rise, women are increasingly using RU-486 to abort at home, leading to more complications and an increase in emergency room visits.
According to one summary of the study, at-home abortions are having an impact on the emotional health and well-being of those utilizing this abortion method. In an analysis of 98 blog posts from women who aborted their babies using medication between October 2007 and February 2018, the study’s authors found that 83% of women reported that their medication abortion had changed them. According to the article:
Each site of struggle characterized a different noteworthy moment within a woman’s medication abortion experience: the decision, the medication abortion process, identity after the abortion, and managing the stigmatizing silence before and after the abortion.
