An Accessible Abortion Site

Tunnel Abortions is an unbiased, equitable website that is devoted to providing accurate and up-to-date information in support of those seeking an abortion. It offers access the nearest verified abortion clinics and easy-to-access resources like State-by-State Access, Clinic Locator, Clinic Checker, and Financial Aid. It seeks to empower individuals with the knowledge they need to make their own private decision about their body and future. The website strives to provide the utmost privacy and security when it comes to the sensitive topic of abortions.

The Full Case Study

Independent Project

Over a two-week sprint, I researched abortion statistics and publicly published experiences, conducted interviews with people directly impacted by changing abortion laws, identified a problem, and prototyped a solution. I independently completed the research and design for this UX project.

As of February 2023

Bans Blocked: Abortion bans are blocked in certain states making it temporarily feasible to have abortions in Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, and Ohio up to 22 weeks; and up to viability in Montana and Wyoming.

Banned: Abortions are banned in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Early Gestational Limit: There is a gestational limit of 6 weeks in Georgia, 15 weeks in Arizona and Florida, 18 weeks in Utah, and 20 weeks in North Carolina.

Legal up to 22 Weeks: Abortions are legal Kansas, Nebraska and South Carolina up to 22 weeks.

Legal up to 24 Weeks: Abortions are legal in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks.

Legal up to Viability: Abortions are legal in Virginia, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington up to viability— the fetuses’ sustained survival outside of the womb.

Legal with no Gestational Limit: Abortions are legal in Alaska, Washington D.C., Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont with no gestational limit.

About half of states are expected to try to enact bans on abortion or gestational limits on the procedure. In some of these states, abortion remains legal for now as courts determine whether bans can take effect. Abortion remains legal in the rest of the country, and many states have added new protections since Dobbs.

- The New York Times

Important Statistics

● On June 24th 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade

● 24% of U.S. women will have an abortion by the age of 45

● 58% of impregnable people ages 13-44 live in a state hostile or extremely hostile to abortion

● 59% of women having abortions are already mothers

● 43% of all abortions occur in the first six weeks of pregnancy, and 92% in the first 13 weeks

● 77% of abortion patients are ages 20-34; only 9% being under the age of 20

Major Problems

● Abortion bans and restrictions create extreme limitations for abortion seekers in certain states.

● Procedures can be harder to obtain as people in no-abortion or restriction states must travel out-of-state and those remaining clinics struggle to keep up with demand.

● In states where abortion remains legal, there has been a dramatic increase in out-of-state resulting in longer wait times for appointments, even for in-state residents.

● Rapidly changing laws may make it unclear to some patients whether they can legally seek an abortion in their state.

● Lawmakers have cracked down on abortion medication and are seeking to prosecute people who travel across state lines to get an abortion.

● As of October 2022, at least 66 abortion clinics across 15 states have been forced to stop offering abortions since Roe was overturned. Abortion clinic are shutting down.

Research

In starting my research for this first project, it was quickly evident that up-to-date information about abortion restrictions was hard to come upon. Even reputable sources had contradicting information, and disingenuous disguised pro-life advertisements were prominently placed at the top of every Google search. If someone knows how to weed through deceitful digital publications and unverified clinic promotions, they can eventually find the sources they seek out, but that is not an equitable assumption for all.

Even before Roe was overturned, getting an abortion was difficult or outright impossible for many people, especially those who were already facing steep barriers to accessing health care, including people with low incomes, Black and Brown people, immigrants, young people, those with disabilities and rural populations. These inequities are likely to worsen as clinic-based abortion care disappears in many states, a number of them clustered in regions like the South.

-Guttmacher Institute

Interviews

My interviewees were between the ages of 23–62 with 80% of them being impregnable people in their 20’s and 30’s. The major pain points were in finding up-to-date information that is comprehensible, finding access to trusted clinics nearby, and having their needs seen and heard. Other noteworthy concerns were for user privacy and financial aid.

Users want a website that has a comprehensive source of information about abortion; however, they want the information to be consolidated and straight forward— including laws and regulations and where to find abortion clinics in your area. The users want the information to be presented without any political bias or agenda, so that they can make informed decisions about their body and future.

User Flow & Sketches

During this step of the design ideation process, I addressed issues of accessibility by offering users the ability to choose a language when they enter the site. Users can easily navigate the site because of its fine-tuned categorization; and consume consolidated to-the-point factual information. Users feel supported by features like locating nearest clinics, verifying clinics, and participating in the community effort. The site is intended to be extremely easy to navigate and accessible to all who are seeking abortion-positive, unbiased information; especially in times like these where abortion laws are changing regularly.

Rapid Prototype

Landing

● User selects language

● From the landing page, users can navigate to: FAQ (Safe and Effective Information), AID (Financial Resources), State-by-State Access, Locate Trustworthy Clinics, Clinic Checker, and Stories & Experiences

State-by-State Access