Tessa Cox
Senior Research AssociateTessa Cox is Senior Research Associate at Charlotte Lozier Institute, where her research focuses on abortion statistics at the state and national levels and the changing landscape of abortion policy, provision, and access in the United States.
Tessa has appeared on CBN News and EWTN News Nightly and has testified before Members of Congress on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Her work has been featured by National Review Online, Newsweek, The Gospel Coalition, Fox News, The Daily Signal, and many other national media outlets. She has contributed to peer-reviewed research on women’s experiences with chemical abortion and the impact of abortion on women enrolled in Medicaid.
Originally from Illinois, Tessa earned a BA in Communications from Thomas Edison State University. Prior to joining CLI, she got her start in pro-life research with the Family Research Council.
Research Authored
Abortion Reporting: Nebraska (2019)
Nebraska’s 2019 abortion report was published in June 2020 by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The report shows that chemical abortions increased from 2018.
Abortion Reporting: Florida (2019)
There were 71,913 abortions reported in Florida in 2019. This represents an increase of two percent from 2018 and marks the second year in a row that Florida abortions have increased after a decade of decline.
Abortion Reporting: Oklahoma (2019)
Oklahoma’s 2019 abortion report was released in June 2020 by the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Oklahoma abortions declined slightly after increasing for two years.
Abortion Reporting: Vermont (2018)
There were 1,204 abortions reported in Vermont in 2018, demonstrating very little change from the previous year, when 1,203 abortions were reported. However, chemical abortions increased by almost seven percent from 639 in 2017 to 681 in 2018. In 2018, chemical abortions made up 57 percent of all abortions reported in Vermont.
Abortion Reporting: Kentucky (2018)
Kentucky’s 2018 abortion statistics were published online by the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services. Abortion totals remained steady between 2017 and 2018.
Pregnancy Outcome Patterns of Medicaid-Eligible Women, 1999-2014: A National Prospective Longitudinal Study
The objective of this study was to describe the characteristic patterns of subsequent pregnancy outcomes evolving from each of three initiating outcome events (birth, induced abortion, natural fetal loss) occurring in a Medicaid population fully insured for all reproductive health services.
#AbortionChangesYou: A Case Study to Understand the Communicative Tensions in Women’s Medication Abortion Narratives
Our study is one of the first to analyze women’s narratives after having had a medication abortion. Using relational dialectics theory, we conducted a case study of the nonpartisan website, Abortion Changes You.
Abortion Reporting: Tennessee (2018)
Tennessee’s annual abortion report for 2018 was published online by the Tennessee Department of Health in April 2020 The report shows that abortions in the Volunteer State increased from the previous year.
Abortion Reporting: Colorado (2019)
Colorado was one of the first states to release abortion statistics for 2019, publishing its 2019 abortion report on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment website in May 2020. The report shows little change in Colorado abortion totals between 2018 and 2019.
Abortion Reporting: Utah (2018)
Utah’s annual abortion report for 2018 was published online by the Utah Department of Health in May 2020. According to the report, both total abortions and abortions performed on Utah residents increased from the previous year.