Dr. Diana Green Foster Photo by Kate Medley
The Turnaway study, conducted by MacAuthur Genius and demographer Dr. Diana Green Foster, sought to answer the question of what happens to people when they are turned away from abortion care. The very elegantly designed Turnaway study followed patients who were just under the gestational age limits (and received care) versus those who were just over the limits to receive care (and didn’t receive care) to see what happened to them over the subsequent 5 years. This factsheet highlights some of the findings of the impacts of not receiving abortion care.
One of the highlights of my academic career was hosting Diana and her sister, playwright Lesley Green, for a visit to Durham. As part of her visit we hosted a sold-old reading of the ‘The Turnaway Play’, written by Lesley. We recruited 3 amazing medical students to play 3 of the roles, and a good friend, who is also an abortion researcher, played Diana.
For researchers, hearing a presentation about new groundbreaking findings is exciting, but while watching the play, it became very clear that art can be more moving. The play includes stories of the people interviewed in the Turnawy study and conveys the hopes and dreams they have for their lives and their futures. The impacts of not receiving care had devastating impacts on the women of the study and their families. What is most heartbreaking is that two participants who didn’t receive abortion care died of immediate postpartum complications.
The amazing Dr. Kristen Shellenberg playing Dr. DGF in The Turnaway Play. Photo by Kate Medley
We encourage you to learn more about the Turnaway Study and if you’re interested you can find information about hosting a reading of the play in your own community on the Turnaway Play website.
The first part of this episode covers the nuts and bolts of how abortion happens and the differences between procedural and medication abortion. Medication abortion is a combination of medications (mifepristone and misoprostol) that work together to cause the pregnancy to expel from the uterus, much like a spontaneous miscarriage. Procedural abortion, also called uterine aspiration or colloquially referred to as a D&C, requires opening the cervix and removing the pregnancy tissue with suction. For first trimester abortions, this procedure takes about 5 minutes.
We talk through why patients might choose one approach over the other, safety, risks, and other general information. We then review a case study of what would happen to 3 similar patients who needed urgent abortion care in 3 different states to demonstrate how laws impact care and put people’s lives at risk. For a longer version of that lecture visit our YouTube website here:
Link to this week’s episode here - Enjoy!
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