Tabetha R. Harken
Biography
Tabetha R. Harken, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.O.G., is Health Sciences Clinical Professor, Program Director of Complex Family Planning Fellowship, Division Director of Family Planning, and Director of the Ryan Residency Abortion & Contraception Training Program in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, Irvine. She received her M.D. from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and her M.P.H. from George Washington University School of Public Health. After completing her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado, she completed a fellowship in Family Planning at the University of California, San Francisco, where she also received advanced training in clinical research. Harken is subspecialty board certified in Complex Family Planning.
Harken's clinical and research work focuses on complex abortion care, cesarean scar ectopic pregnancies, and perinatal loss. She has served as Principal Investigator on multiple grants, including a $1.4 million Comprehensive Reproductive and Maternal Services Grant and a $300,000 grant from Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Community Benefit Program for creating a culture of compassionate care for women experiencing pregnancy loss. Her research has been published in journals including Obstetrics & Gynecology, Contraception, and BMC Public Health, and she has presented at national conferences including the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology Annual Meeting and the Society of Family Planning Annual Meeting. She has conducted international consultation work on abortion care and contraception in Nepal, Mexico, Vietnam, and Canada.
Harken has held leadership positions at UCI since 2009, including serving as Division Director of Family Planning since 2014 and Director of the Ryan Residency Abortion & Contraception Training Program since 2010. She serves as the OB/GYN Wellness Officer for her department and is a founding member of the Reproductive Justice Initiative, a collaborative across UCI's Schools of Medicine, Law, Nursing, and Business. She has been invited to provide expert testimony on reproductive health policy to the California State Senate and the University of California Office of the President Health Services Committee. Harken is a Fellow of the Society of Family Planning and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Return to topEducation
- B.S., Georgetown University, 1996
- M.P.H., George Washington University, 1998
- M.D., University of Colorado School of Medicine, 2002
Distinctions
- Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award, 2005
- Fellow, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FACOG), 2011
- ACOG First Place Award, Poster Presentation, 2005
- Kirk Keegan, Jr., MD Faculty Teaching Award for Excellence in Resident Education, 2016, 2024
- Kirk Keegan, Jr., MD Faculty Teaching Award for Excellence in Medical Student Education, 2011, 2018
- Ravin Award in Family Medicine for Excellence in Medical Education, 2002
- Outstanding Resident Teaching Award, UCSF, 2009
- Southern California Rising Stars, SuperDoctors, 2014-2015, 2019-2024
- Award for Excellence, Colorado OB/GYN Society, 2002
- Orange County Physicians of Excellence Award, Orange Coast Magazine, 2017-2025
Areas of Expertise
- Reproductive Health Services
- Abortion Legalization Effects
- Contraceptive Method Selection
- Perinatal Loss Bereavement
- Cesarean Scar Ectopic Pregnancy
- Intimate Partner Violence Screening
- Postpartum Contraception Initiation
Recent Publications
- Keymeulen S, Rousseau J, Harken T, “Perinatal Nursing Bereavement Workshop – Innovating and Educating to Expand Care”, 2023. Presented at Society of Family Planning, Annual Meeting, Seattle, October 27-30, 2023.
- Coakley K, Meurice M, Chang J, Lovio M, Harken T, “Overnight pain and opioid use after osmotic cervical dilator placement for second trimester dilation and evacuation” (opens in new tab), European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 148-152, 2022.
- Greenberg D, Bittencourt CE, Castillo KD, Harken T, Butler JR, “Fatal Peripartum Clostridium sordellii Sepsis in a Healthy Teenage Mother: Case Report, Literature Review, and Recommendations” (opens in new tab), Journal of OB/GYN Hospital Medicine, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 9-13, 2022.
- Russo J, Harken T, “Abortion and Abnormal Implantation” (opens in new tab), Journal of Gynecologic Surgery, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 329-334, 2022.
- Wilson I, Rousseau J, Lee JA, Harken T, “Burnout, Trauma, and Compassion Fatigue: An Intervention to Support Perinatal Loss Care Providers”, 2022. Presented at Undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing Student, School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine, May 2022.
- Zwerling B, Rousseau J, Ward K, Olshansky E, Lo A, Thiel de Bocanegra H, Harken T, “It's a horrible assignment: a qualitative study of labor and delivery nurses' experience caring for patients undergoing labor induction for fetal anomalies or fetal demise” (opens in new tab), Contraception, vol. 104, pp. 301-304, 2021.
- Mody S, Cansino C, Rible R, Farala JP, Steinauer J, Harken T, “Contraceptive use among women with medical conditions: factors that influence method choice” (opens in new tab), Seminars in Perinatology, vol. 44, no. 5, pp. 151310, 2020.
- Du E, Perez M, Harken T, Tseng J, “Vaginal metastasis of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia resulting in hemorrhage: A case report” (opens in new tab), Gynecologic Oncology Reports, vol. 34, 2020.
- Zwerling B, Rousseau J, Ward K, Lo A, Harken T, “Nurses experience of perinatal loss: A qualitative study on caring for patients undergoing labor induction for fetal demise or fetal anomalies”, 2020. Presented at Society of Family Planning Annual Virtual Meeting, October 9-10, 2020.
- Harken T, “The End of a Desired Pregnancy: Nurses Attitudes Towards Induction Termination”, 2018. Presented at Society of Family Planning, New Orleans, LA, October 2018.
- Harken T, “Contraceptive Use During 2 Years After Birth: A Health Survey of Mothers of Infants at Two Federally Qualified Health Centers”, 2018. Presented at American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, November 2018.
- Harken T.R., Swift U.M.B., Harken A.H., “Are you ready for your surgical rotation?” (opens in new tab), Abernathy S Surgical Secrets Seventh Edition, pp. 3-6, 2018.
- Mody S, Cansino C, Rible R, Steinauer J, Harken T, “University of California Family Planning Collaborative: Choosing a Contraceptive Method: What matters to women with medical conditions”, 2016. Presented at ACOG Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting, Washington, D.C., May 2016.
- Salcedo J, Moniaga N, Harken T, “Limited Uptake of Planned Intrauterine Devices During the Postpartum Period” (opens in new tab), Southern Medical Journal, vol. 108, no. 8, pp. 469-70, 2015.
- Swank ML, Harken TR, Porto M, “Management of Interstitial Ectopic Pregnancies with a Combined Intra-amniotic and Systemic Approach” (opens in new tab), Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 122, no. 2 Pt 2, pp. 461-4, 2013.
- Sech L, Harken T, “Recognizing Health Risks of Pregnancy and Provision of Contraception in Women with Chronic Medical Conditions”, 2013. Presented at Association for Reproductive Health Professionals Conference, Denver, CO, September 2013.
- Pentlicky S, Harken T, Schreiber CA, “Controversies in family planning: first trimester uterine evaluation for the anticoagulated patient” (opens in new tab), Contraception, vol. 85, no. 5, pp. 434-6, 2012.
- Salcedo J, Moniaga N, Harken T, “Postpartum Initiation of Highly Effective Contraception”, 2012. Presented at North American Forum on Family Planning, Washington, D.C., October 2012.
- Harken T., Harken A., “Pregnancy is protective” (opens in new tab), Surgery, vol. 149, pp. 163, 2011.
- Lamichhane P, Puri M, Harken T, Rana A, Malla K, Blum M, Henderson J, “Providers perceptions of sex-selective abortion in Nepal”, 2010. Presented at The First International Congress on Women's Health and Unsafe Abortion, Bangkok, Thailand, January 22, 2010.
Most Cited Publications
- Lamichhane P, Harken T, “Sex-Selective Abortion in Nepal: A Qualitative Study of Health Workers' Perspectives” (opens in new tab), Women's Health Issues, vol. 21-35, pp. S37-S41, 2011.
- Puri M, Lamichhane P, Harken T, “Sometimes they used to whisper in our ears: health care workers' perceptions of the effects of abortion legalization in Nepal” (opens in new tab), BMC Public Health, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 297, 2012.
- Gordon C, Harken T, “Controversies in Family Planning: Intrauterine Device Placement in Solid Organ Transplant Patients” (opens in new tab), Contraception, vol. 100, pp. 250-252, 2018.
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Last updated on 5/19/2026.