Young People Aren’t Getting the Reproductive Health-Care Information They Need

October 16, 2024:

This piece first appeared in our weekly newsletter, The Fallout.

Young people’s access to reproductive health care has always served as a canary-in-the-coal mine for general access to reproductive health care. This has become even more true since the Supreme Court up-ended federal abortion protections more than two years ago. Whenever conservatives want to try out a new form of reproductive health-care restrictions, they often start by targeting minors, including restricting access to information about reproductive health-care options like contraception and abortion.

On Tuesday, advocates from Power to Decide released the results of their first-ever Youth Reproductive Health Access Survey (YouR Health Survey), surveying 15 to 29-year-olds assigned female at birth. This national survey measures young people’s knowledge, attitudes, and experiences related to sexual and reproductive health information and services, with an emphasis on contraception and abortion. The survey illustrates what advocates have said for years: Scientific and evidence-based information about reproductive and sexual health care is the critical foundation for reproductive autonomy.

That’s why conservative lawmakers have it in their sights.

According to the survey results, approximately 80 percent of young people wanted information on contraception and abortion from providers—but they only received it 33 percent and 3 percent of the time, respectively. About 25 percent of young people said they did not have the information they needed to decide whether using birth control is right for them, and about 30 percent did not have enough information to decide which method would be best for them. And, in the past year, only 20.3 percent of respondents received any information about abortion.

“As the YouR HeAlth Survey demonstrates and what we know to be true, health-care providers play a critical role in addressing knowledge and self-efficacy gaps for our young people when it comes to sexual and reproductive health information and care,” Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, Power to Decide CEO and OB-GYN, said in a statement. “Providers have the responsibility and opportunity to empower young people and give them the information they need to make informed decisions and prioritize their reproductive well-being.”

Quite simply, there’s an information desert forming around reproductive and sexual health options for young people, and while providers have the ability to fill some of the gaps, they simply cannot do it alone. Prioritizing our information architecture and this knowledge gap in the post-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization world is critically important in building a better and more equitable health-care system.

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