Many women considering an abortion are not aware that STD testing before an abortion is an important part of taking care of your reproductive health. You might be tempted to think this is an unnecessary step. After all, isn’t it obvious when you have an STD? We all remember those “nasty” pictures in high school health class.  But that’s not reality. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, many STDs (also known as STIs) “have no signs or symptoms”, meaning they are asymptomatic. In fact, it’s estimated that 75% of people with STDs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis are unaware they are infected. Chlamydia is often called the “silent STD” 

And of course, just because you have no symptoms does not mean you are unable to spread an STD.  In fact, if you live in the Newport News area, you need to know that we apparently have a lot of STDs! Newport News ranks as the 37^th most diseased city in the United States. In 2020, in Newport News and Hampton, there were 5,289 cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia. And that’s just two of the many STDs out there.

So now that you’re convinced free STD testing is important, you might still be asking, “Why do I need STD testing before an abortion?” Any type of abortion procedure increases the chance of an undiagnosed STD spreading from your vagina to the rest of your reproductive organs, including your uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. If this were to occur, it can cause a more serious infection called PID, pelvic inflammatory disease. When PID is left untreated it can be life-threatening.