Perspectives on changes in abortion policy by sex among Latine young adults in an agricultural setting in California

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine perspectives on abortion policy changes and self-managed abortion awareness by sex among Latine young adults from an agricultural community in California.

STUDY DESIGN: We utilized data from a prospective longitudinal cohort study of eighth graders followed into young adulthood (N=389) from Salinas, California. Participants completed in-person or remote visits; sensitive questions were asked via computer-assisted self-interviewing. Primary outcomes included measures related to abortion perspectives and awareness of self-managed abortion by sex at birth at two study visits (2023-2025). We assessed differences using chi-squared statistics or fisher's exact tests (categorical) and t-tests (continuous). Secondary outcomes included qualitative data from open-ended questions about self-managed abortion. We analyzed open-ended responses qualitatively using an inductive approach.

RESULTS: Abortion policy changes that mattered most to participants varied significantly by sex (p<0.001). Few (16.5-17.8%) participants had heard of self-managed abortion; awareness varied significantly by sex (p<.05). In open-ended responses, participants discussed self-managed abortion methods, sources of information, perception safety, and likely motivations.

CONCLUSION: Our study explores how Latine young adults from an agricultural community in California view the shifting U.S. reproductive health legal landscape, finding differences between sexes regarding the changing abortion legal landscape and awareness of self-managed abortion. Our findings point to the need for public health interventions that improve young adults' awareness of abortion policies and self-managed among populations underrepresented in abortion research.