The relationship of contextual factors to women's perceptions of medical abortion

This study explores how personal values and the social context of women's lives influence their perceptions of a new reproductive technology, medical abortion. The major objective is to examine the interrelationship between perceived attributes of medical abortion (number of clinic visits, availability early in pregnancy, seeing the expelled products of conception, and unfamiliar method) and the context of a woman's life. Data were collected in eight focus group interviews with a demographically diverse sample of 73 women who were potential users of mifepristone and were analyzed using content analysis techniques. Findings indicate that a woman's perceptions and choice of an abortion method are grounded in the circumstances of her life, and multiple factors enter into the decision-making process. Contextual and personal factors (residence, social support, cultural background, religion, ambivalence towards abortion, and employment) interact with specific attributes of the method to determine acceptability and choice.