Research: in 2021, guttmacher's research team generated a wide range of evidence, including a number of just-in-time studies to document the potential and actual impact of changes to key laws and policies. As the u.S. Supreme court prepared to hear oral arguments in a case that could put roe v wade in jeopardy, our researchers helped to build the evidence-based groundwork urging the court to reject mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. We joined two amiscus briefs and our research was cited in 32 other briefs filed in the case, and our team produced new evidence on the impact that various bans in other states would have on the distance that people would have to travel to access abortion care. Our reseach on texas' six-week abortion ban (known widely as s.B. 8) shaped the conversation around the new law in real time. Just weeks after the enactment of the law, our studies highlighted the drastically increased driving distances people had to travel to access care and the wide range of both contiguous and noncontiguous states people from texas were travelling to in order to access abortion following the law taking effect. Following publication of influential evidence on the early impact of covid-19 on women's childbearing preferences and reproductive health, we published a follow-up report in 2021 reporting on the continuing impacts of the pandemic on women's reproductive experiences. This research found that the pandemic has continued to shift fertility preferences largely to delay childbearing and had a disproportionate effect on the sexual and reproductive health of those already experiencing systematic social and health inequities - low income people, people of color, lgb+ individuals, and transgender and other gender-diverse individuals. The institute also continued to generate evidence on the impact of the pandemic globally. In ethiopia and uganda, for example, we worked with in-country partners to produce evidence describing sexual and reproductive health outcomes among adolescents during the first year of the pandemic. In ethiopia, our analyses suggested a likely decrease in contraceptive use and an increase in unintended pregnancies among youth. For the first time ever, we published a series of 132 country profiles highlighting country-specific data from our popular adding it up report which estimates the need for, impact of and costs associated with providing essential sexual and reproductive health services. The profiles feature 40 indicators, including the costs and impacts of fully investing in comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. These findings were used widely by country-level partners and stakeholders. Guttmacher researchers and in-country partners also published new research findings on topics like contraception, unintended pregnancy, and abortion in a number of countries, including the democratic republic of congo, ghana, indonesia, tanzania, and zimbabwe. The institute's research team continued to strengthen the capacity of in-country partners by providing technical support and trainings, helping form a new abortion research consortium, and helping launch a new capacity-strengthening program for junior and early-career researchers interested in abortion.

Service Area:

No locations for this program