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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Parker Dockray, MSW, ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition, P.O. Box 3609, Oakland, CA 94609, 510-923-0739, jparker@whrc-access.org

ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition is dedicated to making reproductive health and freedom a reality for all women, using a combination of direct services, community education and policy advocacy to promote real reproductive options and access to quality health care for low-income and uninsured women, young women, women of color, immigrants, and women in rural or isolated areas. ACCESS provides free nonjudgmental information, referrals, peer counseling, advocacy and travel assistance to women seeking abortion care. This paper presents the role of ACCESS in helping women access second trimester abortion services in California. It provides data on the barriers experienced by women seeking care. Information is provided on the declining availability of second trimester abortion for low-income women utilizing the state Medicaid program to pay for their abortions. In particular it presents stories on the real life experience of women seeking care. Finally, the paper reviews the successfully strategies used by ACCESS to get patients to the health care providers that will perform their second trimester abortions.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the availability of second trimester abortion providers in California
• Discuss the implications for declining access to second trimester abortion among women utilizing state Medicaid to pay for their abortions
• Explain means by which ACCESS is able to provide practical support to women

Keywords: Abortion, Health Care Access

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No