Insights: Post-Abortion Contraception: An Update

This Insight is an update to a previous Contraceptive Pearl article published in May 2021. After an abortion, patients may want to start or change contraception. Depending on a patient’s medical eligibility, the following contraceptive methods are safe and effective post-abortion: Estrogen/progestin pill, patch, ring Progestin-only pill, injection, implant, IUD Copper IUD Barrier methods Sterilization…

Insights: Early Pregnancy Loss in Federally Qualified Health Centers

Written by Rory Tito, MPH Early pregnancy loss (EPL), also known as miscarriage or spontaneous abortion, is the loss of a pregnancy in the first trimester (12 6/7 weeks) of pregnancy. EPL happens in 10% of clinically recognized pregnancies, and 1 in 4 people with the ability to get pregnant will experience EPL in their…

Insights: Expanding Access to Medication Abortion: A Sample Protocol for 11.1-12.0 Weeks Estimated Gestational Duration

Written by Robin Wallace MD MAS, Rosa Topp MSN, RN Medication abortion is now more common than procedural abortion in the United States , and a critical access point for many abortion seekers via both in-person and telehealth care since Dobbs. Common practice is to offer medication abortion through 11.0 weeks estimated gestational duration (EGD),…

Insights: Period Pills

Written by Rachel Chisausky, DO Missed-period pills are a new take on the age-old practice of “bringing down” a late period. Menstrual regulation (MR), or the use of a variety of methods to “establish nonpregnancy after a missed period,” was traditionally the purview of midwives, and was generally accepted until “quickening.”* Later, the self-help movement…

Advocacy

Introducing Access Watch – RHAP’s 2024 Advocacy Campaign  The Reproductive Health Access Project is excited to announce that we are launching our 2024 ongoing advocacy campaign, Access Watch, that will address key areas of sexual and reproductive health access, rights, and freedom in 2024. Access Watch was created due to the increasing attacks on sexual and…

A History: The IUD

This post was written by Megan Corbett, RN, in January 2013 and updated by Brandy Bautista in March 2024. Today, many intrauterine devices (IUDs), a form of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), are small, T-shaped plastic rods with two arms and a string. They are inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. The history of the…

Insights: Best Practices for Making Your Offices Physically Accessible for Disabled Patients Seeking Abortion Care

Written by Julia Wang, MD and Jillian MacLeod, Esq. As we experience ongoing attacks on abortion access and provision, it is important to highlight the numerous barriers to equitable care that disabled patients face. These barriers include inaccessible online information about abortion services (for example, websites that lack straightforward language or are incompatible with screen…

Insights: Abortion Care for Fat Patients

Written by Mansi Shah, MD What special considerations might there be for fat patients seeking abortion care? In this article, the word fat here is used in the tradition of fat scholars and activists who do so with the aim of reclaiming the word as a neutral descriptor of bodies.1 Fat folks encounter significant stigma…

Insights: Supported Decision-Making for Patients with Disabilities That Affect Capacity

Written by Jillian MacLeod This Insights provides information about supported decision-making (SDM), which can be used as a tool in obtaining informed consent from people with disabilities that affect their decision-making capacity, like intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) or cognitive disabilities. A patient’s decision to access abortion or early pregnancy loss care is a significant one. As…

July 2023 Newsletter

RHAP Welcomes New Executive Director! Please join us in welcoming the Reproductive Health Access Project’s new Executive Director, Danise Wilson!  Danise comes to RHAP with extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, management, and growth. She is a fierce advocate for community education and health care access, and her previous role as the Executive Director of Erie…