Photo Credit: Nadzeya Haroshka
The following is a summary of “Characteristics of foreign-born abortion patients in the United States, 2021–2022,” published in the July 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Cartwright et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to compare patients with foreign-born abortions with patients with U.S.-born and investigate state-level differences in abortion care barriers based on Medicaid coverage.
They utilized data from the Guttmacher Institute’s (2021–2022) Abortion Patient Survey, a national sample of clinic-based patients abortion in the U.S. The sociodemographic characteristics and barriers to care were compared between foreign-born respondents and those who were U.S.-born. The results showed differences among patients born outside the United States based on whether they lived in Medicaid coverage states or states with Medicaid restrictions.
The results showed 12% of the 6,429 respondents were born outside the United States. Compared to U.S.-born individuals, foreign-born individuals with lower Medicaid coverage were more likely to be Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic, lacked health insurance, and completed the survey in Spanish. Foreign-borns more often reported delays due to not knowing where to obtain an abortion (18.3% vs. 12.6% for U.S.-born). In non-Medicaid states, foreign-borns faced more significant barriers, 3 times more likely to pay out of pocket (75.8% vs. 27.4%) and 5 times more likely to need financial assistance (24.1% vs. 4.8%).
Investigators concluded that patients with foreign-born abortions experienced knowledge and financial barriers to accessing abortion care more than patients in the U.S.-born, and the financial burdens were more pronounced in non-Medicaid coverage states.
Source: contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824(24)00248-8/fulltext
