O3Effect of clinic protesters on women's emotional response to abortion
Section snippets
Objectives
Little is known about how antiabortion protesters affect women's experience with abortion. This study seeks to understand who experiences and is upset by protesters and how protesters affect emotional response to an abortion.
Methods
Between 2008 and 2010, 725 women who received an abortion at 25 sites across the United States were interviewed 1 week after their appointment as part of the Turnaway Study.
Results
Nearly half (49%) of women saw a protester; 29% reported being spoken to, and 17% reported that protesters tried to stop them from entering the clinic. Women under age 20, African American women and Latinas were twice as likely as other women to report protesters attempting to stop them from entering a clinic. Among those who saw a protester, nearly half reported that they were not at all upset, 25% reported being a little upset, 15% were “quite a lot” or “extremely” upset. Women who had
Conclusions
Protesters do upset some women seeking abortion services. However, the effect of exposure to protesters does not seem to have an effect on emotions toward the abortion 1 week later.