 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
|
| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Tracy Weitz, MPA, Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy and the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, Box 0744, 3333 California Street, Ste 335, San Francisco, CA 94143-0744, (415) 514-1440, weitzt@obgyn.ucsf.edu
The addition of the word "rare" to the accepted public health concept that abortion should be "safe and legal" has had unexamined and negative effects on how abortion is understood as a component of reproductive health. This paper documents the political considerations that drove the initial use of the phrase "safe, legal and rare," and its ongoing rhetorical functions. The negative implications of reframing the US health dialogue about abortion are also discussed. Utilizing contraceptive efficacy rates, years of female fertility, patterns of sexual activity, and desired family size, this paper also provides a statistical model to challenge the notion that abortion could ever be rare. Comparison rates with other "rare" health outcomes are provided to demonstrate that reductions in the numbers of abortion as a result of greater contraceptive compliance will still not make abortion rare. This paper ends with a call for an acceptance of abortion as a component of reproductive health that is necessary to ensure that women are able to meet their reproductive goals.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.