Understanding abortion regulation: Women in the Heartland

State-level regulations, which prohibit public funding for abortion services, mandate waiting periods prior to obtaining an abortion, require the provision of state-authored informed consent material, and/or require parental, partner or spousal notification/consent to receive abortion services, are considered key barriers to abortion access. Several epidemiologic studies have succeeded in quantifying the negative effect that these regulations have on abortion access for women and teens. Thus, state regulations are a common target for prochoice and reproductive health advocates. Nevertheless, women's understandings and interpretations of abortion regulation has been remained relatively unexplored. In the Heartland Abortion Regulation Project (HARP), we sought to understand how abortion patients interpret the policies which regulate their abortion experience. With the approval of our University's internal review board, we used qualitative methods, including in depth interviewing and ethnography, to collect data. We recruited 20 abortion patients and conducted hour and a half long interviews about their abortion experience and attitudes, and their perceptions of abortion regulations in their state. We used a convenience sample, but sought diversity in our participants by age, race, pregnancy and motherhood experience, religion and political affiliations. In this paper, we explore how these abortion patients interpreted their abortion experience and how state regulation affected their experience. We also explore the patient's understandings of public policy and their preferences for their own abortion care and the abortion care of other women. In conclusion, we consider how our findings can assist providers and prochoice advocates in promoting the rights of women who have abortions.