Keeping it Together: Britney's abortion and men's role

This week we’re talking about Britney Spears’ abortion comments and what they reveal about men’s role in reproductive health care. 

Hi, I’m Katie Camero — a new health and wellness reporter with Paste BN! When I saw this tweet from medical sociologist Andréa Becker, I knew I had to reach out and learn more.

People released excerpts from Britney Spears’ upcoming memoir that revealed she became pregnant with Justin Timberlake’s baby and had an abortion because he wasn’t ready to become a father. 

Experts say that Spears’ statements underscore the benefits that male partners receive from having access to abortion care — an often overlooked aspect of reproductive health in light of Roe v. Wade’s downfall last year that, if ignored in society and politics alike, perpetuates the idea that abortion is solely a women’s issue.

“Abortion is a highly stigmatized form of healthcare, and women almost always bear the brunt of the stigma and shame around abortion,” said Bethany Everett, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Utah. “Yet, there are likely many people, including male partners, who don’t want to become parents or have another child, who also benefit from abortion access — benefits that are rarely recognized by the broader public or policy makers.”

Everett, who studies the social and political implications of reproductive health, said Spears' claim that Timberlake did not want to become a parent suggests he was aware that a child could “derail his career,” a reality that “men rarely publicly acknowledge” but is critical to recognize in a post-Roe world. 

Becker said this example is “consistent with the literature,” in that “men don’t necessarily have to come forward and tell their abortion stories if they don’t want to.”

This pattern is due in part to a lack of research analyzing how access to abortion impacts male partners, a shortfall that Becker said “reinforces the way we talk about birth control, condom use and pregnancy avoidance as a woman’s responsibility and issue.”

“We just forget about the sperm involved in creating a pregnancy,” she added. 

Data show that 1 in 5 men in the U.S. have been involved in abortion, which researchers say is likely an undercount. It's estimated that about 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will have an abortion by age of 45, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

You can learn more about men’s role in abortion discussions here.

And before you go, check out these other articles my team worked on this week.