Washington, D.C. — LGBTQI+ Americans experience disproportionate harm from attacks on reproductive health care, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress.
The latest findings from CAP’s biennial LGBTQI+ Community Survey weigh the state of America’s LGBTQI+ community in 2024, including data on health care access, employment, housing, and more. This analysis zeroes in on survey findings related to the effects of abortion bans passed across the country after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Key findings from the survey include:
- LGBTQI+ people are twice as likely to struggle to find a new medical provider if their clinic or provider denied them service.
- More than one-third of transgender people believe finding a new medical provider would be “very difficult” or “not possible.”
- One percent of all adults who wanted to obtain abortion services in the United States were unable to do so, compared with 5 percent of LGBTQI+ adults and 7 percent of disabled LGBTQI+ adults.
- 11 percent of LGBTQI+ people have chosen not to have children due to abortion bans, compared with 2 percent of non-LGBTQI+ people.
The report’s analysis includes data from a nationally representative group of 3,360 people older than age 18, of which 1,703 identify as LGBTQI+. It was conducted in partnership with nonpartisan research group NORC at the University of Chicago.
“Like everyone, LGBTQI+ people need access to reproductive care, maternal care, and abortion services. As these essential services are being vilified, restricted, and even banned, LGBTQI+ Americans experience disproportionate harm,” said Caleb Smith, director of LGBTQI+ Policy at CAP and author of the issue brief. “To counteract the damage and support their constituents, states should be passing policies that protect access to reproductive health care.”
Read the issue brief: “New Survey Shows Abortion Bans’ Unique and Chilling Impact on LGBTQI+ People” by Caleb Smith
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].