 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Alissa Perrucci, PhD, MPH, 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, 415-514-9274, perruccia@obgyn.ucsf.edu and Jennifer Parker, MSW, ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition, P.O. Box 3609, Oakland, CA 94609.
Nationally 1.3 million abortions occur annually, and half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion. While unintended pregnancy is acknowledged as a public health issue in Healthy People 2010, abortion is discussed only in the context of being a consequence of these pregnancies. However, in addition to its relevance in the matter of reducing unintended pregnancies, abortion is a central issue in the context of barriers to health care. This paper explores how abortion is handled in Healthy People 2010. Next, it emphasizes that abortion is also a public health issue because of its frequency of occurrence, its relationship to human rights, and disparities in access to care. Implications for data collection on abortion including geographic distribution of providers, characteristics of women obtaining abortions, birth rates, and pregnancy rates are discussed in terms of relevance to public health 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.