Despite major gains in sexual and reproductive health and gender equity worldwide, abortion remains a topic rife with misinformation, disinformation and influenced by non-evidence-based policies. This introductory public health course provides accessible and foundational knowledge on the topic of abortion in the context of a changing reproductive health landscape.
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Highlighting expertise from Emory University researchers and community partners, this course provides an introduction to abortion from public health, medical, policy, social, and human rights perspectives for general audiences. Students will benefit from diverse learning opportunities through lectures, case studies, and self-reflection activities. Students will be introduced to several frames for thinking about abortion including those of reproductive justice, reproductive rights, reproductive health, life course, and health equity. By the end of the course, students will be able to examine their belief systems related to abortion and to identify and critique common misunderstandings related to abortion. Furthermore, students will explore the connection between social inequities and abortion to contextualize the future of abortion access in the rapidly changing present-day landscape.
Syllabus
Course introduction
This course is intended to provide an introduction to the topic of abortion from public health and social science perspectives for a wide range of learners. If you are new to the topic or would just like to brush up on evidence-based information on abortion, this course is for you. In our work we have noticed that few resources exist in public health that directly address the topic of abortion at an introductory level and thus we wanted to develop a resource that is accessible for all. Throughout this course, we feature expert-led lectures from Emory University faculty, collaborators and alumni and focus on scientific data on what is known about the importance of abortion to comprehensive reproductive health care as well as the implications of access to abortion care for populations. We will cover topics related to defining terms, clinical aspects, access to abortion and implications of non-access to services, the history of abortion and abortion policy in the US, how we conceptualize and measure abortion in public health, the influence of abortion stigma, and the implications and relationship between abortion and the larger reproductive health of populations including maternal mortality. You can choose to go in the order suggested or jump around to Modules that most interest you. Throughout there are questions to test your knowledge and activities which ask you to reflect on your own beliefs, values, and norms related to abortion. You will find an activity section in each module. To take full advantage, we encourage you to engage in the suggested reflections and values clarification exercises as you move through this course.
What is abortion
In this module, participants will learn about the medical options to end pregnancy, the correct terminology to accurately discuss abortion, the types of abortion that exist, as well as statistics on abortion patients and their safety. This module addresses the intersection of abortion with other rights issues and the factors that influence individual beliefs about abortion.
Clinical Procedures
This module will detail evidence-based abortion options, including the two major types of abortion: medical and procedural abortion. It will highlight abortion safety, efficacy and elements that influence provision of quality care that meets the needs of patients.
History of abortion & policy in the US
In this module, learners will begin to understand both the history and current landscape of federal and state abortion policies in the United States. They will understand the interaction between these types of policies and their impact on individuals living in communities. This module is an introduction to different types of state-level regulations that can make abortion access more difficult and gives a case study example of the impact of public health research on changing abortion policy.
Access to abortion care
This module will provide an overview of factors that influence whether and how an individual can access abortion services using examples largely based in the context of the U.S. and will highlight changes in abortion access immediately after the fall of Roe v. Wade. It will also summarize research findings on the impacts on the lives of individuals who are not able to access a wanted abortion.
Abortion Stigma
In this module, participants will be introduced to the concept of stigma, how it applies to abortion, and its consequences. Participants will learn about the process of stigma, how abortion stigma manifests for individuals, communities, and providers. This module will also highlight social and health outcomes of abortion stigma. Finally, evidence-based interventions for abortion stigma will be introduced.
Epidemiology of Abortion: Understanding Measurement, Data and Patterns
This module will provide an overview of epidemiology of abortion, including trends and patterns of abortion in the United States. Our first lesson in the module provides a discussion of abortion measurement, including an overview of definitions, reporting processes, and data sources. Our second lesson describes abortion patterns in the U.S., highlighting trends in abortion incidence and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic differences in abortion in the U.S. over the last 50 years.
Maternal Mortality
In this module, participants will be introduced to the concepts of maternal morbidity and mortality, trends and disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality within the United States. This module will also discuss determinants of disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. Finally, this module will also discuss the influence of abortion policy on maternal mortality and evidence surrounding its effects.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to learn with us. Now that you have completed our course, consider how you can share this information more broadly with your friends, family and coworkers. We hope that you take this information as the first step in your journey to continue learning. We have included several resources throughout the course that we hope you revisit and share with members of your community or pursue more in-depth based on your interests. We encourage you to check out our course resources again and again. Emory is a leader in the field of sexual and reproductive health and abortion research, mentoring, and teaching. If you would like to learn more about how you can become involved, pursue a degree in public health, or support these fabulous programs and scholarships for students we encourage you to see the links at the end of this module. We hope that you enjoyed this course!
