Understanding the role of race in abortion stigma in the United States: a systematic scoping review

Abstract

The impact of abortion stigma is broad. Stigma impacts abortion providers, abortion patients and the broader community. Understanding how race and culture affect aspects of abortion stigma may be an important piece of expanding access to and support of abortion. We conducted a systematic search for studies involving abortion stigma and race in PubMed, PubMed Central, Embase, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, GenderWatch and Ethnic NewsWatch on 7 January 2020. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they explored stigma and included participant race and/or ethnicity, were in English, and included original research. Thirty studies were included in the final review, including 11 quantitative studies, 9 qualitative studies, 4 mixed methods studies and 6 dissertations. Most studies provided basic racial and demographic data but did not provide racial differences in experiences of abortion stigma. Three quantitative studies found that women of colour had different experiences of abortion stigma compared to White women. Non-peer-reviewed studies of qualitative PhD-level dissertation research found that race, culture, religion and immigration had unique and complex effects on abortion stigma experienced by Latinx women. While abortion stigma is common, we found that there is a lack of research contextualising the racialisation of the United States. Quantitative studies found that women of colour experience abortion stigma at lower levels compared to White women. However, qualitative analyses of experiences suggest that quantitative measures of abortion stigma may not capture unique aspects of abortion stigma as experienced by women of colour.

Abortion as a sociological case

“…We do not have a baseline abortion rate; rates by racial/ethnic group are comparative. Brown et al's 45 review of the literature on race and stigma reports findings that abortion patients' experience of stigmatization differs by race, with white women reporting higher rates of stigma than women of color.…”

“…Brown et al. 's 45 review of the literature on race and stigma reports findings that abortion patients' experience of stigmatization differs by race, with white women reporting higher rates of stigma than women of color. To the extent that abortion stigmatization is a deterrent, it may cause white women to seek abortion at lower rates.…”

Abortion Decisions as Humanizing Acts: The Application of Ambivalent Sexism and Objectification to Women-Centered Anti-Abortion Rhetoric

“…For abortion, White women express greater perceived abortion stigma than Black and Latina women, likely due to the White supremacist pronatalism that encourages and obliges White cisgender women to have and raise children (Bommaraju et al, 2016) —although current measures of abortion stigma may be insufficient in assessing how abortion stigma is experienced by people of color (Brown et al, 2022). Within their communities, a legacy of reproductive suppression and coercion may contribute to the demonization of Black, Native, and other people of color who have abortions (Morrison, 2019; Smith, 2005).…”

Dilemas interseccionais:

“…O estigma social do aborto e a discriminação nos serviços de saúde também são determinantes para as mulheres negras sul-africanas no adiamento da procura pelo serviço, sendo fatores que resultam na alta taxa de aborto inseguro e na busca dos serviços para a realização do procedimento de modo mais tardio (MOSLEY et al, 2017). Uma recente revisão sistemática analisou a relação da raça e o estigma do aborto, revelou que nos estudos quantitativos que as mulheres de negras e latinas tiveram diferentes experiências de estigma do aborto em comparação com as mulheres brancas (BROWN et al, 2022). A situação limite causado pelo estigma do aborto na sua intersecção com o racismo institucional foi a causa de morte materna por aborto inseguro de Ingriane que realizou um aborto inseguro e demorou de procurar o serviço de saúde para a atenção e cuidado pós abortamento, ao chegar no serviço já estava com um quadro de infecção generalizada (GUIMARÃES, 2018).…”