“It’s More Important Than Ever for Men to Play a Role”: Women’s Perspectives on Safe Sex Responsibilities Following the <i>Dobbs</i> Decision

The <i>Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization</i> decision in June 2022 revoked the constitutional right to abortion and left abortion policy jurisdiction up to the states. Data were collected in November 2022 through Prolific, a research participant recruitment service, to assess participants' perspectives on safe sex responsibilities in light of the <i>Dobbs</i> decision. Participants were 339 U.S. cisgender women aged 19-29 years (<i>M</i> = 24.4, SD = 2.84). Consensual Qualitative Research - Modified (CQR-M) was used to analyze participants' written responses to the following question: "<i>How has the overturning of Roe v. Wade impacted the way you think about safe sex responsibilities for men and women, if at all?</i>" Four domains (with additional sub-categories) were identified: (1) <i>no/minimal change in attitudes</i>; (2) <i>increased importance of shared pregnancy prevention</i>; (3) <i>it's on me</i> (<i>women bear the brunt of the responsibility</i>); and (4) <i>men's responsibilities should be amplified</i>. This study provides an exploratory, high-level account of how U.S. cisgender women initially responded to the <i>Dobbs</i> decision, highlighting the imbalance of safe sex responsibilities and opportunities for normalizing and rectifying men's responsibilities.