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Incarcerated Women and Abortion Provision: A Survey of Correctional Health Providers. By Carolyn B. Sufrin, Mitchell D. Creinin and Judy. CONTEXT: Many women entering jail or prison are pregnant, and correctional facilities are therefore an important venue for providing a range of pregnancy-related care, including access to abortion services.
Of the 19 state prisons permitting abortion, two thirds required the incarcerated woman to pay. Four jails of the six study jails (67%) allowed abortions in the first and second trimesters, and 25% of those required the incarcerated woman to pay for the procedure.
Improving women's overall health care in correctional settings should include increasing the accessibility of abortion services. Although incarceration does not preclude women's need for access to abortion, full access to services is not available in all settings.
May 11, 2023 · Before Roe was overturned, only 4 U.S. states had laws on abortion for incarcerated people in the U.S. In the last year, the legal landscape for abortion has changed dramatically, leaving incarcerated people uniquely vulnerable to the impact of state restrictions and bans.
Sep 21, 2022 · Our research has found that even in states where abortion was legal and fully accessible up to [fetal] viability, some prisons and jails had either official or unofficial policies that did not allow incarcerated women to access abortion.
Whether an incarcerated woman decides to continue her pregnancy to term or have an abortion, she has a constitutionally protected right to obtain appropriate medical care. To what extent, if any, a prison's policies address pregnancy-related services is one important indicator of how that facility treats pregnant women in its custody.
Mar 30, 2023 · Incarceration presents multiple potential barriers to accessing abortion and contraception care, including prison security protocols, prison locations, lack of access to care providers, stigma, and low health literacy.
