Abortion remains an exceptionalised form of healthcare. In a context shaped by global rollbacks of reproductive rights and heightened political scrutiny of sexual and reproductive healthcare, it is increasingly governed as uniquely risky, sensitive and contentious.
As an interdisciplinary group of researchers of abortion, contraception and sexual and reproductive health, we have observed a subtle but significant intensification of abortion exceptionalism in recent years. In this Personal View, we argue that this exceptionalism is being reproduced through research governance processes, including ethics review and expectations around public and patient involvement and engagement. These shifts have implications not only for service provision, but for what…