Why does abortion stigma matter? A scoping review and hybrid analysis of qualitative evidence illustrating the role of stigma in the quality of abortion care

Published in the Social Science and Medicine Journal, this study explores how abortion stigma shapes the environment in which abortion is delivered and received and can have important implications for quality in abortion care.

The authors conducted a scoping review of existing qualitative evidence to characterise the relationship between abortion stigma and quality in abortion care. Using a systematic process, they located 50 qualitative studies to include in the analysis.

Studies show a clear relationship between abortion stigma and quality in abortion care:

• Four abortion stigma themes emerged in our analysis of 50 qualitative studies: A) abortion as a sin and other religious views; B) regulation of abortion; C) judgement, labelling and marking; and D) shame, denial, and secrecy

• Analysis combining abortion stigma and quality of care led to seven manifestations

• Findings were generated from qualitative data from a range of global contexts

• Future measurement of quality in abortion care should integrate abortion stigma

Read the full study