User:BeatriceShore/sandbox

Reproductive and sexual health
Lesbian, bisexual, and queer women have many of the same reproductive and sexual health needs as heterosexual women. However, queer women face disparities when it comes to reproductive and sexual health. This may be in part due to lower socioeconomic status and lower rates of insurance, particularly for bisexual individuals. Additionally, sex education (in the U.S.) is largely heteronormative and may not provide information relevant for LGBTQ individuals (see LGBT sex education). Health care providers may not have adequate education regarding sexual orientation, so may not be offering their queer patients appropriate and needed services. Queer individuals may also face discrimination and bias in the health care setting (and in society more broadly), leading to lower quality health care or deterring individuals from seeking care at all. Given these factors, queer women have specific needs around reproductive and sexual health.

Cervical cancer
A lack of screening for cervical cancer is among the most obvious and most preventable risk factor for lesbians, bisexual, and queer women in the development of invasive late-stage cervical cancer. Lesbian, bisexual, and queer women are less likely to receive appropriate screening for cervical cancer than heterosexual women, which leads to later detection of cervical cancer.

Contraception
Lesbian, bisexual, and queer women need access to contraception, both to prevent pregnancy and for a variety of non-contraceptive benefits. Estimates suggest that 3.8 million cisgender lesbian, bisexual and queer women may be using contraceptives in the United States. However, lesbian, bisexual, and queer women are less likely to use contraceptive methods, even when they are engaging in sex that could result in pregnancy.

Abortion
Lesbian, bisexual, queer, and women who identify with a sexual minority identity seek abortion care. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that approximately 5% of abortion patients in the United States identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer. Studies relying on measures of self-reported abortions suggest that abortion is common across queer women’s lives. Bisexual adolescents are more likely to terminate a pregnancy than their heterosexual counterparts, a difference that persists into adulthood. Across their lifetimes, women who identify with a sexual minority identity were more likely than heterosexual women to experience an unwanted pregnancy or terminate a pregnancy.