Publications
Journal Article
It means being safe, having power over one's body: Black Female Adolescent Experiences with Reproductive Health Counseling in Primary Care
This study aimed to understand the perspectives of Black adolescents who are assigned female at birth (AFAB) in their receipt of SRH counseling in primary care and elicit preferences for SRH-related communication with clinicians. Interviews found that most participants conveyed positive perceptions of clinicians regarding trust and comfort. However, many participants shared significant gaps and areas for improvement in the quality of care received to better align services with their preferences for SRH care. Findings from this study can inform the development of SRH counseling best practices and clinician education to support respect and autonomy, which is routinely denied to Black AFAB adolescents.
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Journal Article
How TikTok is being used to talk about abortion post-Roe: A content analysis of the most liked abortion TikToks
TikTok, a popular video-sharing application, may be a source of information about abortion, yet little is known about the tone and content of such videos. To fill this gap, researchers analyzed the most liked abortion videos on TikTok three months following the U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Their analysis found these videos to be primarily political in nature. Relatively few videos provided practical information about accessing abortion care, presenting an opportunity for healthcare providers, public health advocates, and activists to improve access and awareness of new pathways to care.
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Journal Article
“Time and money and support”: Adolescents and young adults’ perceived social and logistical support needs for safe abortion care
This study highlights the perspectives and experiences of a diverse, nationwide sample of adolescents and young adults on their perceived abortion-related social and logistical support needs. These findings can support centering adolescents and young adults in practice and policy change to minimize barriers, improve social support, tailor resources and information about abortion, and streamline access to essential reproductive health services in a post-Dobbs landscape.
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Commentary
Adolescents and Abortion Restrictions: Disproportionate Burdens and Critical Warnings
Calling upon advocates, providers, and researchers, this commentary highlights the need for adolescent health professionals to respond to a changing policy landscape that imposes disproportionate barriers and burdens on young people seeking abortion. Citing existing health and policy data, authors examine the ways abortion restrictions, brought on by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, have already impacted teens’ ability to access abortion and prompted many to raise concerns about future attacks on their right to other reproductive healthcare services, such as birth control.
“It is time to listen to, amplify, and respond to the perspectives of young people in the post-Dobbs landscape; otherwise, we risk significant erosion of their health and rights moving forward.”
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Commentary
How Anti-‘Abortion Trafficking’ Laws Actually *Harm* Youth Trafficking Survivors
In this commentary, authors demonstrate the cruel realities of Idaho’s recent ‘abortion trafficking’ law, which criminalizes those who assist minors in obtaining an abortion without parental consent. In addition to restricting young people’s access to information and healthcare, by adopting the rhetoric of human trafficking, authors argue that Idaho legislators undermine the brutal realities of young trafficking survivors.
“Anti-abortion legislators are trying to exert the same kind of control over young people’s bodies that actual trafficking depends on.”
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Journal Article
A Nationwide Sample of Adolescents and Young Adults Share Where They Would Go Online for Abortion Information After Dobbs v. Jackson
Given the changing landscape of abortion access, we sought to understand where adolescents and young adults retrieve information about abortion online. Using a nationwide survey, we found that many adolescents and young adults could name an online resource for abortion information, but some are not aware of specific resources. This underscores a need to elevate reputable sources and provide guidance on how and where to look for accurate online abortion-related information.
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Journal Article
Adolescent Awareness of the Changing Legal Landscape of Abortion in the United States and Its Implications
Prior to the Supreme Court ruling to overturn federal protection of abortion, we sought to examine adolescents' awareness and knowledge about the legal landscape of abortion and how changes might affect them. Using a nationwide survey, our study suggests that many adolescents are aware of and concerned about potential impacts of abortion restrictions, across a diversity of ages, gender, racial/ethnic, and geographic perspectives. Understanding and amplifying the voices of adolescents during this critical time is necessary to inform novel access solutions and policy initiatives that center the needs of youth.
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Commentary
Birth Control Access Is Under Threat After Texas Judge's Ruling Against Title X
Confirming experts’ fears that the overturning of Roe v. Wade would result in legal challenges to contraception, this commentary explores the implications of Deanda v. Becerra, a recent federal ruling against young people’s right to contraception. Underscoring the urgent need to enact legal protections to contraception and other essential reproductive healthcare services, authors illustrate the glaring similarities between the precedent set by this case and previous cases that prompted Dobbs v. Jackson.
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Commentary
Elevating the needs of minor adolescents in a landscape of reduced abortion access in the United States.
This commentary highlights abortion access barriers specific to minor adolescents (those aged <18 years) and proposes strategic responses adolescent healthcare communities can enact. Emphasizing the need to adapt a reproductive justice framework, this commentary identifies changes that can be made at an individual, community, and nationwide level that promote adolescent’s health outcomes and honor their right to bodily autonomy.
“When adolescents do not have access to comprehensive reproductive care, unmet needs lead to negative health and social consequences that may persist across the life course.”
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Commentary
Forcing Thousands of Teens to Parent in a Post-Roe Nation
Findings from the first nationwide count of abortions following Dobbs v. Jackson led researchers to estimate that at least 7,000 teenagers in the US will be unable to access a legal abortion, and be forced into parenthood, in the year following this Supreme Court decision. In this commentary, authors explore the stark reality of these findings, which they argue will harm young people and exacerbate existing racial and economic inequities nationwide.
“For a teen, being denied an abortion isn’t just a bump in the road; it forces them onto a lifelong path they didn’t choose. Pregnant people who are denied an abortion are more likely to go on to live in poverty with their children and struggle to pay for basic expenses like food and housing.”
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Commentary
The Pediatrician in the post-Roe landscape
Emphasizing the pivotal role of pediatricians in adolescent healthcare, this commentary outlines essential steps these providers must take to advocate for their patients post-Roe and ensure they have access to vital reproductive and sexual health services. Adequately acknowledging the current political climate authors argue, consists of adopting a series of patient-facing practices that both meet an individual’s existing health needs and prepare them for potential legal changes in the legal and clinical landscape.
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Commentary
A Major Problem for Minors: Post-Roe Access to Abortion
With potential changes to state abortion laws looming after the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, this commentary anticipates the disproportionate impact that legislation banning or severely restricting abortion would have on minors. Scrutinizing the legal and logistical challenges minors faced before this ruling, authors argue that without significant legal and financial interventions, young people's access to essential abortion care will be further compromised. The authors state that restricting minors’ access to abortion has widespread implications for their immediate and long-term well-being and undermines their right to bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom.