Differences in abortion-related knowledge among women involved in the criminal legal system in three US cities

What is Known About Reproductive Autonomy Among Justice-Involved Black Women?: A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

There are approximately 231,000 women detained daily within the nation's jail and prison systems with women of color making up nearly half of those experiencing incarceration. The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize the literature on the reproductive autonomy of Black women influenced by incarceration, using the three tenets of reproductive justice.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, CINAHL, SocINDEX, and PsycINFO for research related to reproductive justice written in English and published in the United States from 1980 to 2022. A review of 440 article titles and abstracts yielded 32 articles for full-text review; nine articles met inclusion.

RESULTS

Eight addressed Tenet 1; five mentioned Tenet 2; none addressed Tenet 3. Recognition of the influence of incarceration on the reproductive autonomy of Black women is limited.

CONCLUSION

The findings from this review suggest a need to address (a) reproductive choice, (b) support goals, and (c) support of justice-involved Black women.

Perceived healthcare quality and contraception utilization among persons recently incarcerated

Purpose

Previously incarcerated women have specific gender and physiologic needs that are poorly addressed on community re-entry. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between contraception use and perceived healthcare quality post-incarceration. Additionally, we examine the association between social determinants of health and contraception use post-incarceration.

Methods

A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study of reproductive-aged women with a history of criminal-justice involvement in three cities (n = 383) was performed. Questions related to demographics, social determinants of health, sexual and reproductive health practices, health services use, and healthcare quality were analyzed. Bivariate analysis and logistic regression examined associations between these variables and contraception utilization among persons recently incarcerated.

Results

35% of the participants used a method to prevent pregnancy. There were no significant differences noted between contraceptive users and non-users in perceived healthcare quality. Participants who were not using a contraceptive method were more likely to lack health insurance and experience food insecurity when compared to contraceptive users.

Conclusions

Although there was no difference in perceived healthcare quality between contraceptive users and non-users, significant barriers to contraceptive access on community re-entry exist. More studies are warranted to explore the sexual and reproductive health of previously incarcerated women.