About
Turnaway
It’s time for an honest, empathetic, evidence-based conversation about the harms caused by restricting abortion access.
In 2020 Dr. Diana Greene Foster, UCSF Professor and MacArthur fellow, published her landmark book, The Turnaway Study, based on a ten year research project that definitively answers the question “What happens to a person who wants an abortion but cannot get one?”
Politicians, judges, and “pro-life” advocates justify their anti-abortion stance by claiming that abortion is a dangerous procedure that leads to personal trauma and a downward life spiral. Dr. Foster’s revelatory conclusions demonstrate that the exact opposite is true, and refute the false claim that abortion harms women.
After a thorough, data-driven analysis of 1,000 ethnically diverse women* from across the country, to monitor their mental and physical health, careers, romantic relationships, and pair-bonding with their current and future children, Turnaway found that women* who are refused an abortion suffer far more negative and damaging life consequences than those who are able to receive this basic universal form of healthcare.
This study focused on people who self identified as “women” at the time the research was conducted.
Get the book.
“If you read only one book about democracy, The Turnaway Study should be it. Why? Because without the power to make decisions about our own bodies, there is no democracy.”
- Gloria Steinem
The Turnaway Project
The Turnaway Project has a unique value proposition and approach within the reproductive rights ecosystem. We co-create directly with student activists, policy makers, care providers, cultural influencers and other reproductive rights organizations, to package the key findings from the Turnaway Study into custom tool kits and content for their specific communities. We validate public opinion and fortify the people on the frontlines, by fueling their advocacy, informing their decisions and influencing their policies.
Given the severe changes in our political / social landscape, and the onslaught of anti-abortion attacks from Washington DC and state capitals to further restrict abortion access, the utility of the Turnaway Study and the Turnaway Play have exponentially increased. We’re here to support, to collaborate and to co-create.
Lecture Series
Want to learn more?
Watch The Turnaway Study Lecture Series
Media Coverage
TED Talk
How does getting an abortion — or not — influence a woman’s life? Demographer Diana Greene Foster puts forward the results of The Turnaway Study, her landmark work following nearly 1,000 women through abortion or childbirth, presenting definitive data on the long-term physical, mental and economic impacts…
Ted Talk
The Daily Californian
In the majority decision for Gonzales v. Carhart, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptional to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow.”…
Daily Cal
CNN
It’s an unfounded message experts say is repeated again and again: Having an abortion may damage a woman’s mental health, perhaps for years.
“There’s so much misinformation, so many myths about abortion. Abortion will lead to substance abuse, depression…
CNNStay in Touch
Find out what the Turnaway Project is up to.