Higgins co-authors study in The Lancet Regional Health

A new study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas looks at movement across state lines to obtain abortion care in 2017. UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity and Division of Reproductive and Population Health Director Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH co-authored the article.

“Abortion travel within the United States: An observational study of cross-state movement to obtain abortion care in 2017” used CDC abortion surveillance data to calculate state-specific abortion rates, as well as percentage of patients leaving their state for abortion care:

“In 2017, an average of 8% of US patients left their state of residence for abortion care. Percent leaving varied widely by state: 74% left Wyoming, 57% left South Carolina, and 56% left Missouri, while 13 states had fewer than 4% of patients leaving. States with more restrictive laws averaged 12% of patients leaving, while states with middle ground or supportive laws averaged 10% and 3% leaving, respectively. Pairwise correlations between percent leaving, facility density, and policy score were all statistically significant, though correlations between percent leaving and facility density within policy environment were not.”

Read the whole study here.