The Reversal of Roe vs. Wade and its Effect on Contraception Access in the U.S.

Over the past year, there has been a shift in the United States healthcare system following the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade. This shift has caused a burden to fall on contraceptive use across states that either prohibited abortion or permitted it. This information poses the following question: In women of reproductive age living in the U.S., has the reversal of Roe v. Wade impacted birth control access in U.S. states with limited abortion rights compared to U.S. states that do not limit abortions over the past year? A literature search was conducted on CINAHL, PubMed, and Google Scholar using these search terms: Roe v. Wade, contraception, birth control access, abortion, and reproductive rights. The initial search on CINAHL resulted in 41 articles. On PubMed, the initial search showed 608 articles. On Google Scholar, the search showed 17,900 articles. A total of 10 articles met inclusion criteria. The evidence is favorable on the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the direct effect on contraceptive access across the U.S., with evidence suggesting that the reversal is progressing female reproductive rights in a direction that makes access even more difficult. The literature notes the most significant barriers to contraception were contingent in states with prohibited abortion rights. Limitations of this review include minimal evidence on the long-term effects of Roe v. Wade and contraception access. Based on these findings, the overturning of Roe v. Wade could allow for states to restrict access to certain contraceptives