ArticlePloS one2020
Perceived abortion stigma and psychological well-being over five years after receiving or being denied an abortion.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 109 citations in OpenAlex.
- Abortion stigma among people seeking abortion care in high-income countries: a mixed-methods systematic review.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2025Pooled it
- "One's life becomes even more miserable when we hear all those hurtful words". A mixed methods systematic review of disrespect and abuse in abortion care.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2025Pooled it
- Satisfaction with telemedicine use during COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: a systematic review.The Libyan journal of medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Termination of pregnancy for fetal anomaly: a systematic review of the healthcare experiences and needs of parents.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Pooled it
- Association of perinatal depression and postpartum contraception intent, choice, and actual use.Contraception · 2024Trial
- Patient-Reported Experiences of Abortion Travel.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- 'I chose to keep it secret:' a qualitative study on the lived experience of women who underwent an abortion in Ethiopia.International health · 2026Article
- Seeking Abortion Care Across State Lines After the Dobbs Decision.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Abortion on Request, Contraceptive Access Barriers, and Mental Health-Related Quality of Life Among Women Attending a Romanian Tertiary Center.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Potential mediating role of self-concealment in the relationship between family resilience and stigma among women who have had induced abortions: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Women's reproductive mental health: currently available evidence and future directions for research, clinical practice and health policy.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- "It Makes It More Real to You": Abortion Attitudes Following Experience and Contact With Abortion.Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health · 2025Article
- Who pays more? Exploring cost disparities in medication abortion access across socio-demographic groups in Ghana.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Feelings about abortion at time of care: Findings from an Ohio abortion facility.Sexuality research & social policy : journal of NSRC : SR & SP · 2025Article
- The impact of gestational age limits on abortion-related outcomes: a synthesis of legal and health evidence.BMC global and public health · 2025Article
- Understanding the needs of postpartum emerging adults with substance use disorders to improve recovery supports.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Abortion and Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Contemporary Review of the Literature.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Review
- The "abortion imaginary": Shared perceptions and personal representations among everyday Americans.Science advances · 2024Article
- Is legal recreational cannabis associated with cannabis use during pregnancy, beliefs about safety, and perceived community stigma?Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- Automating untruths: ChatGPT, self-managed medication abortion, and the threat of misinformation in a post-Frontiers in digital health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo prospectively assess perceptions of abortion stigma after receiving or being denied an abortion over 5 years, the factors associated with perceived abortion stigma, and the effects of perceived abortion stigma on psychological well-being.
methodsWe recruited people seeking abortion from 30 facilities across the US, and interviewed them by phone one week post-abortion seeking, then semiannually for 5 years. We used adjusted mixed effects regression analyses to examine the abortion stigma trajectories of those who obtained an abortion near a facility's gestational age limit (Near-limits) compared to those denied an abortion because they were just over the limit and carried their pregnancies to term (Turnaway-births).
resultsOf the 956 people recruited, we removed 28 due to ineligibility or missing data, leaving a final sample of 928. In unadjusted analyses, at one-week post-abortion seeking, over half of those seeking abortion perceived that if others knew they had sought an abortion, they would be looked down upon at least "a little bit" by people close to them (60%) or by people in their community (56%). In longitudinal adjusted analyses, people denied an abortion and who carried their pregnancies to term (Turnaway-birth group) reported significantly lower baseline perceived abortion stigma from people close to them (-0.38; 95% CI, -0.59, -0.16) and from people in their community (0.30; 95% CI, -0.52, -0.08), than Near-limits, differences that remained statistically significant for 1.5 years. Overall perceived abortion stigma declined significantly (p < .001) for both study groups. High perceived abortion stigma at baseline was associated with higher odds of experiencing psychological distress years later (adjusted Odds Ratio, 3.98; 95% CI, 1.39, 11.37).
conclusionsMost people considering abortion perceive some abortion stigma, which is associated with psychological distress years later.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.