Analyzing Abortion-Related Stigma through Research
By Madeline Walaszek
This semester, I have worked with Dr. Martha Silva at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine on a research project focused on abortion stigma. While our current discourse on abortion almost always centralizes the US (and undoubtedly after the Dobbs decision, this is a critical discussion), the landscape of abortion legislation is not a monolith, and analyzing Latin American trends in attitudes and legislation towards abortion is also necessary.
In the past 20 years, a wave of abortion rights activism has swept across Latin America, mobilizing individuals and organizations alike. This change is particularly evident in Mexico, where abortions were available in limited circumstances until 2007, when Mexico City made abortion on request legal for the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy. 15 years later, in 2023, the Mexican Supreme Court determined that criminalizing abortion was unconstitutional, effectively decriminalizing abortion nationwide. However, the legal struggle continues in various states, and even in regions where abortion is legal, stigma complicates the provision and availability of abortion services.
In contrast to the relatively well-researched subject of perceived and enacted stigma towards abortion seekers, Dr. Silva’s research focuses on abortion providers. Her work seeks to analyze how abortion providers experience stigma and how this is affected by the changing legal landscape. Her project focuses on providers working in Mexico City, where abortion regulations have been relatively liberal in comparison to the rest of the country for the past two decades. This research utilizes qualitative interviews, thematic analysis, and the review of existing theoretical frameworks that help conceptualize how abortion stigma functions.
For the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to dive into the research and familiarize myself with the academic landscape of this subject. Much of my work consists of researching existing literature, taking notes, and seeing how this fits into the broader goals of this project. In addition to this, Dr. Silva has included me in the steps of the IRB process, which has given me the opportunity to learn firsthand (and under the guidance of someone well-versed in the complexities of this process) practical skills that I can use in the future as a researcher.
This research is ongoing, and I look forward to participating in the thematic analysis of interviews this coming Fall and contributing to the subsequent research paper. During my time as an undergraduate, I was immersed in humanities research that focused on social activism (particularly feminism) in Latin America, and I feared that upon entering a STEM program as an MPH student, I would have to give up this critical part of my identity. This research project with Dr. Silva has demonstrated to me that qualitative research that is deeply connected to social justice is undoubtedly valuable and foundational in the field of public health.