Induction termination as a method of abortion: An opportunity for expanding access
Abortion
Awarded 2018
Emerging Scholars in Family Planning
Mark Wilcox, MD
University of California, San Francisco
$7,500

Access to dilation and evacuation is limited in most of the US. Induction termination (also referred to as medical abortion or labor induction) is an acceptable alternative to dilation and evacuation as a method for second-trimester abortion and may be preferable to dilation and evacuation for some patients. Induction termination is typically offered to patients terminating for anomalies, complications, or fetal demise and is less likely to be offered to women terminating for other reasons. We know very little about whether women who are terminating for other reasons would consider induction termination instead of dilation and evacuation and what circumstances would alter that willingness to consider induction. In this study, we propose comparing women’s willingness to undergo induction termination among women who recently underwent dilation and evacuation in two geographic areas where access to dilation and evacuation is more versus less restricted.