Glossary for the Reproductive Health Experiences and Access Survey
Key terms used in the RHEA survey and its associated products.
Abortion bans: The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022. US states have abortion laws and regulations that restrict whether, when, and under what circumstances medical providers can offer abortion care and a pregnant individual can obtain an abortion. Many states now have abortion bans that prohibit individuals from terminating a pregnancy. States with the most restrictive bans prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy, sometimes with limited exceptions, such as preservation of the pregnant person’s life or health, cases of rape or incest, or the presence of lethal fetal abnormalities.
Abortion clinics: Abortion clinics are specialized medical facilities that provide abortion services in a dedicated clinical setting.
Abortion counseling requirements: Many states require patients to receive counseling before obtaining an abortion. Requirements vary across states, but some mandate that providers share medically irrelevant or misleading information about abortion.
Abortion funds: Abortion funds are organizations that support people seeking abortion care. They can provide financial assistance for abortion procedures or additional logistical support such as travel or child care.
Birth control: Birth control, also referred to as contraception or contraceptives, allows people to plan whether and when to become pregnant, to regulate periods and associated discomfort, and to treat health conditions ranging from endometriosis to acne. Methods of birth control include those used during intercourse, such as male condoms or withdrawal; short-acting hormonal methods including birth control pills, Depo-Provera, birth control patches, and vaginal rings; long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods including intrauterine devices (IUDs) with hormones, implants, or copper IUDs; tracking methods including apps, programs, and websites or natural family planning; permanent methods including tubal ligation, partner’s vasectomy, or hysterectomy; and emergency contraception.
Crisis pregnancy centers: Crisis pregnancy centers (or CPCs) are organizations—often operated by anti-abortion, nonmedical, and/or religiously affiliated groups—that aim to deter people from certain reproductive health care services, including abortion and some contraceptive methods.
Fetal viability: In clinical settings, fetal viability is often used to describe the biological potential for a fetus to survive outside the uterus. Viability is influenced by many factors, including gestational age. Importantly, it does not represent a definitive diagnosis, since the survival of an individual fetus cannot be predicted with certainty. Many state abortion bans are based on the concept of viability but do not use a clinically accurate definition, instead claiming, incorrectly, that survival past a given gestational age is more certain.
Gestational age: Gestational age refers to how long a fetus has been developing in the womb. Gestation in pregnancy lasts an average of 40 weeks (280 days) and is typically measured from the first day of the last menstrual period to the estimated date of delivery.
Gender-affirming care: Gender-affirming care encompasses a range of social, psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions designed to support and affirm a person’s gender identity when it conflicts with the gender they were assigned at birth. These interventions include psychotherapeutic, medical, and surgical treatments, and they aim to affirm the gender as stated by the patient. The American Medical Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, American Psychiatric Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics all use this term because it is considered the most precise and medically accurate way to refer to such care.
Medication abortion: Medication abortion is an FDA-approved drug regimen to terminate pregnancy. It typically involves taking two medications: misoprostol and mifepristone. Unlike procedural abortion, medication abortion does not have to take place in a clinical setting. Decades of research have consistently shown that medication abortion is safe and effective.
Miscarriage care: Miscarriage, or early pregnancy loss, can require care to remove any pregnancy tissue left in the uterus. Miscarriage care can include monitoring as the pregnancy tissue passes on its own, medication to pass tissue (mifepristone and misoprostol), or a surgical procedure to remove tissue (typically uterine aspiration or dilation and curettage [D&C]).
OBBBA’s Planned Parenthood provision: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, included a provision (Sec. 71113) banning Medicaid funds to certain reproductive health care entities that provide abortion care, including Planned Parenthood, for one year from the date of enactment.
People assigned female at birth: People assigned female at birth includes both women who identify as cisgender (i.e., someone whose internal gender identity corresponds with the sex the person was identified as having at birth) and people who do not identify as cisgender but are labeled female based on physical characteristics at birth. RHEA products use this term for data accuracy purposes because the RHEA survey sample includes people who answered “female” to the question “What sex were you assigned at birth, on your original birth certificate?” regardless of gender identity.
Procedural abortion: Procedural abortions take place in a clinical setting and are performed by physicians and other skilled providers such as midwives, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Research shows that procedural abortions are highly effective and safe. Abortion procedures include uterine aspiration, dilation and curettage (or D&C), and dilation and evacuation (D&E), depending on gestational duration.
Reproductive health care/services: Reproductive health care encompasses a wide range of services, from preventive gynecologic care that includes screening for cervical cancer and pelvic exams to care for irregular or painful periods, care for premenstrual dysphoric disorder, birth control, fertility assistance, gender-affirming care, care for loss of sexual desire or sexual dysfunction, and care for perimenopause or menopause symptoms.
Reproductive justice: Reproductive justice is defined by SisterSong as “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”
RHEA focus groups: The RHEA focus groups include people ages 18–49 who indicated that they were assigned female at birth in response to the following question: “What sex were you assigned at birth on your original birth certificate?”
Throughout the RHEA products, we refer to this group as focus group participants, women, people, or women and all people who could need gynecologic or obstetric care.
RHEA survey sample: The RHEA survey sample includes more than 50,000 people ages 18–49 who indicated that they were assigned female at birth in response to the following question: “What sex were you assigned at birth on your original birth certificate? Please select one.”
Throughout the RHEA products, we refer to this sample as respondents, women, people, or women and all people who could need gynecologic or obstetric care.
Shield laws: Shield laws refer to legislation or executive orders that protect providers, patients, and other people helping provide reproductive health care and/or gender-affirming care in states where that care is legal. Shield law protections vary across states but often include protections against out-of-state investigations or prosecutions, from professional discipline, and/or against civil liability.
Title X: Title X is a federal program that provides low- and no-cost reproductive health services. Title X grantees provide services including birth control, pregnancy testing, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) services. Title X funds cannot be used to pay for abortions.
TRAP laws: Targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws impose regulations on abortion clinics, such as requiring that an abortion clinic have the same structural specifications as an ambulatory surgical center or requiring that an abortion provider have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Research consistently shows no evidence that these laws contribute to patient safety. Some TRAP laws increase administrative burdens on abortion clinics enough to hamper their operations and, in some cases, lead to closure.
Ultrasound requirements: Some state laws require providers to perform an ultrasound before an abortion, and some require providers to share ultrasound images and information with a patient seeking an abortion. Research shows ultrasounds are not medically necessary for most abortions.
Waiting periods: Abortion waiting period laws require patients to wait a mandatory specified time—typically from 24 to 72 hours—between receiving counseling from a provider and having the procedure. Research consistently shows no evidence that these laws are medically necessary or contribute to decision certainty.
