Abstract
For the first time in the 21st century, we have an emerging body of research regarding
contraceptive use among adult women with disabilities in the United States.
We highlight key findings from population-based analyses that found higher odds of
female sterilization and lower odds of long-acting reversible contraception use among
women with disabilities compared to their peers without disabilities. We consider
potential reasons underlying these differences, including discriminatory attitudes
and policies that restrict the sexual and reproductive autonomy of people with disabilities.
We advocate for a justice-based, intersectional approach to research on contraception
and disability with the aim of promoting the reproductive autonomy of people with
disabilities.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 11, 2019
Accepted:
January 16,
2019
Received in revised form:
January 11,
2019
Received:
August 30,
2018
Footnotes
Study support: Dr. Wu receives support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under award number 1K23HD084744-01A1. Dr. Horner-Johnson was supported in part by award number K12HS022981 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and award number 90DDUC0039 from the Administration on Community Living (ACL). The content is the responsibility solely of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD, AHRQ or ACL. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review and approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
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