Characteristics of women who present for abortion beyond the legal limit in Flanders, Belgium

• In Event: 3129 - Section on Medical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 9. Marginalization in Pregnancy and Motherhood

Abstract

Context: Characteristics of women who present beyond the legal limit for abortion care have insufficiently been explored in the Belgian context. This study examined these characteristics and presents data on whether these women intended to parent, were referred to adoption services or for abortion elsewhere.
Methodology: Data were collected between 2013 and 2016 in the non-hospital based abortion clinics in the Flemish region of Belgium. Logistic and multinomial regression methods were applied to examine the relation between women’s characteristics and whether they presented within or beyond the limit.
Results: A total of 28,741 women requested an abortion, with 972 women presenting beyond the limit. 30% of these women was unable to receive abortion care due to the mandatory 6 day waiting period. Significant factors associated with presenting beyond the limit were younger age (odds ratio, 1.7), lower education (between 1.9 and 3.1) and unemployment (1.3). These women were less likely to be accompanied by someone to the center (0.8), to have a foreign nationality (0.8), to have irregularly (0.6) or regularly used contraceptives (0.7), and to have previously had an abortion (0.8). 60% of the women who presented beyond the limit received a referral to a different location, such as a neighboring country.
Conclusion: This study highlights the precarious context of the women presenting beyond the limit. It calls into question the mandatory waiting period as well as the legal limit of 14 weeks, particularly because the most vulnerable women are more likely to present beyond this limit.

Author

• Sarah Van de Velde, University of Antwerp