Third-trimester abortion is more expensive, difficult to obtain, and stigmatized than earlier abortion. In the post-Dobbs landscape, it is also likely to become more common as pregnant people face substantial barriers to obtaining abortion care promptly and are delayed into the third trimester. Advocating for a context-based—rather than individual reason-focused—framework, Dr. Kimport identifies who needs third-trimester abortions, their pathways to care, and what this means for the prospect of reproductive justice.
Katrina Kimport is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and a sociologist in the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) program at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focuses on the (re)production of inequality. She is the author of Queering Marriage: Challenging Family Formation in the United States (2014, Rutgers University Press) and No Real Choice: How Culture and Politics Matter for Reproductive Autonomy (2022, Rutgers University Press).