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How commonly do US abortion clinics offer contraceptive services?
Megan L Kavanaugh1, Rachel K Jones, Lawrence B Finer
1Research Division, Guttmacher Institute, New York, NY 10038, USA. mkavanaugh@guttmacher.org
Contraception
|September 21, 2010
Summary
Contraceptive services are widely available in US abortion clinics, with most offering education and common methods like birth control pills. Many clinics integrate contraceptive care into abortion services, often without additional patient fees.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Public Health Policy
- Healthcare Access
Background:
- Half of US women obtaining abortions have had a prior abortion.
- Improving contraceptive access in abortion settings may reduce repeat unintended pregnancies.
- Data on contraceptive service availability within US abortion care is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document the availability of contraceptive services in US abortion care settings.
- To understand the integration of family planning services into abortion provision.
- To identify factors influencing contraceptive care accessibility in abortion facilities.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional mixed-methods study.
- 15 semistructured telephone interviews and 173 structured questionnaires.
- Nationally representative sample of large, non-hospital abortion facilities (≥400 abortions/year).
Main Results:
- 96% of abortion clinics provide contraceptive education.
- Commonly distributed methods include birth control pills (99%), vaginal ring (61%), and Depo-Provera (58%).
- One-third of facilities offer post-abortion IUD insertion; 56% include contraceptive costs in abortion fees.
Conclusions:
- Nearly all large US abortion providers offer some contraceptive care.
- The extent of contraceptive care provision varies based on multiple factors.
- Integration of contraceptive services into abortion care is common but not universal.
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