Artificial Intelligence and Abortion Decisions: Lessons from COVID-19
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The present study focuses on the tendency of induced abortion, drawing lessons from the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now ended. We explore how factors during the pandemic, along with emerging artificial intelligence tools, could inform decisions regarding induced abortion. A total of 441 women who referred to obstetrics and gynecology clinic, in Tehran province, from 15 June to 15 September 2020 were enrolled in present study. The socio-demographic features including age, number of children and completed years of formal education were collected. To collect the data about tendency to abortion a scenario was designed and explained to participants. The scenario designed in the form of a question was as follows: suppose that your beta HCG become positive and simultaneously the COVID-19 PCR test confirmed that you get infected with COVID-19, without alteration in your situation due to COVID-19 pandemic (such as your economic status, your job,…), what will be your decision about pregnancy? Do you Continue pregnancy or terminate it? The response of “I will be terminating pregnancy” considered as tendency to abortion for a participant. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Less than a quarter of all 441 participants (108 (24.5%) women) tent to have an abortion. Regarding to the age of the participants, most of the study participants (148, 33.6%) were 25-30 years old. considering educational level of the participants majority of the participants (225, 51%) had diploma followed by bachelor degree, high-school and college degree, respectively. In terms of participant’s child-bearing status, of all study participants most of them only had one child (175, 39.7%) and 150 (34%) women had no child. The distribution of the tendency to abortion was seen in age, education and child-bearing status groups and revealed that older mothers and mothers with more children significantly were more likely to have abortions. Regarding to educational level of participants, the higher tendency to abortion was seen in women who had diploma (44.4%); however no significant relationship was found (P=0.21) between education and tendency to abortion. COVID-19 was a pandemic disease, and managing it required careful policy making. Special attention to justice in access to health services, particularly the formulation of policies and operational mechanisms for their implementation, was of critical importance. The COVID-19 pandemic affected every part of the healthcare system. Predicting its impact on induced abortion, as one of the major women’s health issues, can provide valuable insights into the potential negative consequences of future health crises. This study showed that decision-making for induced abortion is multifactorial, and the COVID-19 pandemic itself was not a major determinant in these decisions. However, experiences from COVID-19 demonstrate that artificial intelligence based solutions have the potential to improve maternal care, anticipate challenges, and guide ethical policies.
Author: Roya Rashidpouraie
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7219791850