Francesca Hong

Katrina Kimport

Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Chapter Member: Bay Area SSN
Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Katrina

(510) 986-8947

About Katrina

Kimport has three primary areas of research expertise. 1) She is an expert on abortion and contraception. Most recently; she has closely examined women’s experience of third-trimester abortion. She has also studied preabortion ultrasound viewing and women’s social and emotional experience of abortion (e.g. unpacking “abortion regret”). 2) She is an expert on same-sex marriage in the U.S.; with an emphasis on gay and lesbians’ experiences of legal marriage. 3) She is an expert on social movements related to abortion rights and marriage equality in the U.S. She is also knowledgeable about the socio-legal aspects of abortion and same-sex marriage; including how the law is used to regulate both practices and how that translates into people’s lived experience.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Why Women Seek Abortions after 24 Weeks of Pregnancy

Basic Facts Brief,

What Happens when Women Planning Abortions View Ultrasounds?

Key Findings Brief,

In the News

Research discussed by Anna North, in "What “crisis pregnancy centers” Really Do," Vox Media, March 2, 2020.
Quoted by Morgan Ome in "The Surprisingly Fraught Question of Who Pays for Birth Control," The Atlantic, February 19, 2020.
Quoted by Emma Green in "Should Pro-Life Clinics Have to Post Information about Abortion?," The Atlantic, March 19, 2018.
Research discussed by Laurie Abraham, in "Abortion: Not Easy, Not Sorry," Elle, October 14, 2014.
Research discussed by Shereen Jegtvig, in "Seeing Ultrasound Rarely Changes Abortion Plans: Study," Reuters, January 30, 2014.
Research discussed by Tara Culp-Ressler, in "More Than Four Decades after Roe v. Wade, What Stories are We Telling about Abortion?," ThinkProgress, January 22, 2014.
Research discussed by Anna Breslaw, in "Do Women Who See Their Ultrasounds Decide against Abortion?," Cosmopolitan, January 10, 2014.

Publications

"Reducing the Burdens of Forced Abortion Travel: Referrals, Financial and Emotional Support, and Opportunities for Positive Experiences in Traveling for Third-Trimester Abortion Care" Social Science & Medicine 293 (2022).

Examines whether and how the financial, logistical, and emotional costs associated with forced abortion travel can be reduced, identifying structural and interpersonal actions that can improve patient experiences, even in the absence of policy change.

"No Real Choice: How Culture and Politics Matter for Reproductive Autonomy" (Rutgers University Press, 2022).

Punctures the myth that American women have full autonomy over their reproductive choices, exposing the structural, cultural, and experiential factors that can make choosing abortion impossible–especially for those who experience racism and class discrimination. Gives voice to women whose experiences are often overlooked in debates on abortion, illustrating how real reproductive choice is denied, for whom, and at what cost.

"Comparison of Health, Development, Maternal Bonding, and Poverty among Children Born after Denial of Abortion vs after Pregnancies Subsequent to an Abortion" (with Diana Greene Foster). JAMA Pediatrics (2018).

Examines the association of women receiving or being denied a wanted abortion with their children’s health and well-being.

"More Than a Physical Burden: Women’s Mental and Emotional Work in Preventing Pregnancy" The Journal of Sex Research 55, no. 9 (2017): 1096-1105.

Examines the mental and emotional aspects of contraception—and how clinicians counsel women in ways that normalize and entrench the feminization of responsibility for all aspects of preventing pregnancy.

"Beyond Political Claims: Women's Interest in and Emotional Response to Viewing Their Ultrasound Image in Abortion Care" (with Tracy Weitz and Diana Greene Foster). Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health (2014).
Shows that women who view their preabortion ultrasound image experience a range of emotional responses to viewing, including no emotional response, negative responses, and positive responses – in contrast to popular assumptions that viewing is always traumatizing. Gestational age does not predict a negative emotional response to viewing.
"Relationship between Ultrasound Viewing and Proceeding to Abortion" (with Mary Gatter, Diana Greene Foster, Tracy Weitz, and Ushma Upadhyay). Obstetrics & Gynecology 123, no. 1 (2014): 81-87.
Demonstrates that voluntary viewing of the preabortion ultrasound image does not change women’s minds about choosing abortion.
"Queering Marriage: Challenging Family Formation in the U.S." (Rutgers University Press, 2014).
Examines the many and overlapping reasons same-sex couples choose to marry, including as protest, for rights and social recognition, and for love. Argues that, depending on the reasons for marriage, same-sex marriage can both contest and entrench sexual identity-based inequality.
"(Mis)Understanding Abortion Regret." Symbolic Interaction 35, no. 2 (2012): 105-122.
Shows that women who experience post-abortion emotional difficulty (sometimes called “regret”) do so because of the complicated contexts of their lives – including romantic relationship loss, lack of social support, and attachment to the pregnancy – rather than because of the physical abortion procedure.