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ViewAttendees 4

IGNITE - 7 minutes for each presentation

Social Justice and Health Equity

F2. IGNITE: Sexuality Education and Health Choices: Navigating College Conversations, Post-Roe Discourse, and Abortion Perceptions

F2.03 - IGNITE: Effect of College Students’ Medication Abortion Safety Perceptions on Hypothetical Pregnancy Choice

Thursday, April 17, 2025
3:14 PM – 3:21 PM PST
Location: Gallerie I, 1st Floor
Earn 1.0 Advanced CECH
Advanced Level CECH Credit
Area of Responsibility: Area IV: Evaluation and Research
Subcompetencies: 4.3.6 Analyze data., 4.4.6 Synthesize findings. 4.4.7 Develop recommendations based on findings.
Research or Practice: Research

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
  • Describe the implementation of medication abortion policies and procedures at California public universities.
  • Explain the implications of perceived safety of medication abortion on college students' reproductive behaviors.
  • Discuss future research around perceived safety of various reproductive health procedures.
Brief Abstract Summary: Recognize the potential link between college students' perceived safety of medication abortion and their hypothetical decision whether to continue an unplanned pregnancy. Perceived safety of MAB may play a role in students’ reproductive health decisions. Discuss implications of perceived safety of reproductive health services on college students' health care decisions.

Detailed abstract description: The safety of abortion services is heavily questioned in the United States (US) despite available evidence. Based on 2020 abortion rates, approximately 1 in 4 Americans who can become pregnant receive abortions in their lifetime, making the procedure relatively common and well-documented, and 91% of abortions in the US occur in the first trimester. The objective of this presentation is to assess perceived safety of medication abortion (MAB) as a predictor for hypothetical pregnancy choice. Participants were from a stratified random sample of 257 biologically female undergraduate college students at a public university in California. An online survey assessed perceived safety of MAB, hypothetical pregnancy choice, and demographics. Predictors for hypothetical pregnancy choice, including perceived safety of MAB and potentially important covariates, were explored using binary logistic regression. After adjusting for political affiliation and religion’s abortion view, those with lower perceived safety of MAB were 15 times as likely as those with higher perceived safety to say they would continue an unplanned pregnancy rather than have an abortion (OR: 15.12; 95% CI: 3.723, 61.23). Whether someone's religion viewed abortion as a sin was also a predictor of pregnancy continuation, and conservative political affiliation was significant for those whose religion considered abortion a sin. Perceived safety of MAB may play a role in students’ reproductive health decisions. Considering the high prevalence of abortion misinformation within the US, perceptions of MAB safety as well as other reproductive services should be explored further.