Option to look: Women's access to products of conception in elective abortion

There is an abundance of literature about fetal imaging technologies, and how we have come to visualize and socialize the fetus in medical and popular culture settings. These images are often used by activists to politicize abortion, and may have implications for clinician and patient assumptions about the fetus that are enacted in the clinic setting. Feminist approaches to abortion care aim to provide each woman with agency throughout the education and procedural process, including the ability to see ultrasound images if she so chooses.  Yet, there is limited information about how and when women can see the aborted fetus in the clinic setting. This paper explores how experiences of pregnancy, embodiment, and fetal imagery influence women’s assumptions about, and access to the post-abortion fetus, also known as the products of conception (POC). I argue that discourse on pregnant embodiment and the various ways women and clinicians are encouraged or discouraged to interact with the fetus can influence whether and when POC is accessible to women who wish to see it. Some clinics allow women to view or interact with the POC, but barriers for women and clinicians are common and complex. As abortion is a highly-stigmatized practice, and there is limited literature about women’s ability to interact with POC, this research is important in understanding how knowledge about pregnancy outcomes shapes expectations during the abortion process, and how access to the POC may be an important component of feminist health care and public health practice.