UIC professors get funding to research abortion access

Kim Ricardo from UIC Law and Claire Laurier Decoteau from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have received nearly $250,000 in grant money to fund their interdisciplinary project, Abortion on the move.

The $248,091 grant, funded by the Society of Family Planning, was created to investigate barriers pregnant women face in seeking abortions, especially low-income women of color and women who must travel across state lines to receive care. 

The 18-month research project begins this summer and will partner with a local abortion fund organization which will help gather qualitative data to assess the climate and pathways to abortion and identify barriers created by state laws. Data will be collected from interviews with abortion providers, those who used available funds to travel to states where abortion is legal and those who decided to self-manage their abortion. Data will include insights gathered from networks of midwives, abortion partners and personal testimonies on social media.

Ricardo, associate dean of experiential education, and Decoteau, professor and interim head of sociology, became familiar with each other’s work and research as members of the UIC Public Voices Fellowship. They understand how law influences society and culture, and their cross-collaborative efforts will shed light on how health and law intersect.