OBJECTIVES: This study expects to investigate how discussions on Twitter in the Roe v. Wade decision affect the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age in United States.

METHODS: This study used python to crawl Twitter platform for 24M tweets throughout 2022. Then used BERTopicto analyze all texts thematically and generate key themes by month and divided them into pro-life and pro-choice terms based on occurrence.

The study is based on the psychosocial cognitive theory that information exposure affects the control of social norms and perceived behavior, and proposed exposure to pro-life/pro-choice related information may reduce the fertility intentions of infertile women.

Effects of information exposure on social norms and perceived behavioral control are not directly occur and mediated by perceived self-efficacy and perceived controllability. Therefore, the study introduces individual fertility attitudes, perceived social norms in social media as mediating variables. They are measured using scales and attitudes toward related text topics questionnaires in order to evaluate the mediating effect. It is also studied separately based on marital status.

RESULTS: The direct effects of exposure to pro-life/pro-choice information on fertility intentions of women of childbearing age were not significant. Both for unmarried and married infertile women, individual fertility attitudes and social norms of perceived abortion discussions play a mediating effect in their influence on individual fertility intentions.

CONCLUSIONS: The overall effect of Twitter on fostering fertility intentions begins primarily with information exposure. In turn, prolonged and frequent exposure to statements based on the abortion topic, which is strongly physiologically relevant, tends to shape social norms through the discussion of polarizing topics during the period, indirectly reducing the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age with the addition of personal fertility intentions. Therefore, the social media's guidance on health literacy should be equally taken into account for the relevant health policy makers.