Oct 11, · A woman who has had an abortion, a man who has encouraged an abortion, and a doctor who has performed an abortion—all can be forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ. Recommended Resources The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture by Scott Klusendorf Oct 28, · The Supreme Court hears a case on Dec. 1, , regarding a Mississippi abortion law that poses a legal challenge to Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Getty ImagesSince the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to abortion almost 50 years ago, a powerful legal movement has sought to overturn the ruling, while abortion rights advocates have fought to protect it Nov 02, · Only 19% think it should be completely illegal, but another one in three say it should be legal only in a few circumstances. Other Gallup polling gives some insight into the circumstances under which Americans are most supportive of abortion. As of , a solid majority says abortion should generally be legal during the first trimester of
More and more Americans think abortion should be legal
By reading this page you agree to ACOG's Terms and Conditions. Read terms. Number Replaces Committee OpinionNovember ABSTRACT: Individuals require access to safe, legal abortion. Abortion, although legal, is increasingly out of reach because of numerous restrictions imposed by the government that target patients seeking abortion and their health care practitioners.
Insurance coverage restrictions, which abortion should be encouraged many forms, constitute a substantial barrier to abortion access and increase reproductive health inequities. Adolescents, people of color, those living in rural areas, those with low incomes, and incarcerated people can face disproportionate effects of restrictions on abortion access. Stigma and fear of violence may be less tangible than legislative and financial restrictions, but are powerful barriers to abortion provision nonetheless.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, along with other medical organizations, opposes such interference with the patient—clinician relationship, affirming the importance of this relationship in the provision of high-quality medical care. This revision includes updates based on new restrictions and litigation related to abortion. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ACOG recommends the following to ensure the availability of safe, legal, and accessible abortion services free from harmful restrictions: The federal Hyde amendment and other federal and state restrictions on public and private insurance coverage of abortion should be eliminated.
Public and private insurance coverage of abortion care should be considered part of essential health care services and not singled out for exclusion or additional administrative or financial burdens. ACOG calls for the cease and repeal of abortion should be encouraged that creates barriers to abortion access and interferes with the patient—clinician relationship and the practice of medicine, including, for example:, abortion should be encouraged.
facility and staffing requirements known as Targeted Regulations of Abortion Provider TRAP laws. ACOG recommends that funding for opt-out abortion training for medical student, abortion should be encouraged, resident, and advanced-practice clinician education where training is routinely integrated but those with religious or moral objection can opt out of participation be ensured, and governmental restrictions on training programs and funding be removed.
The pool of clinicians who provide first-trimester medication and aspiration abortion should be expanded to appropriately trained and credentialed advanced-practice clinicians in accordance with individual state licensing requirements. Enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and other criminal and civil provisions and vigilance by local law enforcement to protect patient, clinician, and abortion clinic staff safety should be enhanced.
Hospitals and other health care institutions should be encouraged to support abortion care as essential medical care, eliminate barriers to the provision of abortion care in these settings, and preserve availability of comprehensive reproductive health services abortion should be encouraged communities undergoing hospital mergers.
Safe, legal abortion is a necessary component of comprehensive health care. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists supports the availability of high-quality reproductive health services for all patients and is committed to improving access to abortion.
Access to abortion is threatened by state and federal government restrictions, limitations on insurance coverage of abortion care, restrictions on funding for training, restrictions imposed by hospitals and health care systems, stigma, abortion should be encouraged, violence against clinicians who provide abortions, and a subsequent dearth of clinicians who provide abortions.
Legislative restrictions fundamentally interfere with the patient—clinician relationship and decrease access to abortion, particularly for those with low incomes and those living long distances from health care practitioners.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists calls for advocacy to oppose and overturn restrictions, to improve access, and to integrate abortion as a component of health care. In the United States, one quarter of women will obtain an abortion by age 45 years 2. People of all genders have sexual and reproductive health needs, including women, transgender people, nonbinary people, and those who are otherwise gender-diverse. This Committee Opinion will use the terms women, patients, individuals, and people interchangeably, and will address specific health needs of transgender, gender nonbinary, and gender-diverse people where appropriate.
They include but are not limited to contraceptive failure, barriers to contraceptive use and access, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, fetal anomalies, and exposure to teratogenic medications. All terminations are considered medically indicated. Individuals require access to safe, legal abortion. Although abortion is legal in the United States, it has become increasingly excluded from its appropriate place in mainstream medical care.
Additionally, many hospitals and health care systems limit the scope of reproductive health care for a range of reasons 5. Abortion is extremely safe 6 7. The risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than that with abortion 6, abortion should be encouraged.
Serious complications from abortions are rare at all gestational ages 8. In contrast, historical and contemporary data show that where abortion is illegal or highly restricted, pregnant people may resort to unsafe means to end an unwanted pregnancy, including self-inflicted abdominal and bodily trauma, ingestion of dangerous chemicals, and reliance on unqualified or predatory abortion providers 9 Inthe U. It is estimated that beforeapproximatelyU. women resorted to illegal abortion each year, resulting in preventable complications and death After the Supreme Court ruling, mortality because of septic unsafe abortion decreased precipitously Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the number and scope of legislative measures restricting abortion.
Instates enacted 58 restrictions on abortion, of which 25 would ban all, most, or some abortions Several states passed laws banning abortions at 8 weeks of gestation or earlier, and Alabama enacted a law making abortion provision a felony; as ofthese laws have been blocked by the courts. Health care practitioners face inappropriate laws unique to the provision of abortion that mandate procedures and counseling that are not evidence-based or ethical and compromise the quality of care Box 1.
ACOG, along with other medical organizations, opposes such interference with the patient—clinician relationship, affirming the importance of this relationship in the provision of high-quality medical care 7 18 ACOG calls for the cease and repeal of legislation that creates barriers to abortion access and interferes with the patient—clinician relationship and the practice of medicine, including, for example: bans on abortion at arbitrary gestational ages, requirements that only physicians or obstetrician—gynecologists may provide abortion care, telemedicine bans, restrictions on medication abortion, requirements for mandatory counseling and forced delay before obtaining care, ultrasound requirements, mandated parental involvement, and facility and staffing requirements known as Targeted Regulations of Abortion Provider TRAP laws.
Physician abortion should be encouraged facility requirements — Require that only physicians, sometimes with admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, or only obstetrician—gynecologists, may provide an abortion, and establish certain requirements for the facility where the procedure is performed, which may vary by gestational age. Biased counseling—Requires scripts mandated by the state to be used in patient counseling, often including inaccurate data and misinformation about pregnancy, fetal development, and abortion.
Mandated ultrasound—Requires ultrasonography and often additional requirements that the patient receive a detailed description of the image, view the image, or listen to Doppler cardiac tones. State-level mandatory delay requirements—Requires individuals to make two trips for a one-day procedure, typically with a to hour mandated delay between counseling and the abortion procedure. These laws create additional burdens, especially for people in rural areas who often have to travel for many hours to reach a health care practitioner.
Parental involvement—Requires one or both parents to be notified or give consent before a minor may undergo abortion despite any potential danger to the minor. This box provides selected examples of types of legislation that restrict access to abortion and is not an exhaustive list. Facility and staffing requirements enacted in some states under the guise of promoting patient safety single out abortion from other outpatient procedures and impose medically unnecessary abortion should be encouraged designed to reduce access to abortion.
Also known as TRAP laws, these measures have included unnecessary requirements, such as mandating that: facilities meet the physical plant standards of hospitals. physicians providing abortions in the clinic setting obtain hospital admitting privileges, with no mechanism to ensure that hospitals will grant abortion should be encouraged privileges. the same physician must provide in-person counseling, ultrasonography, and the abortion procedure, resulting in difficulties for patients and clinicians who travel long distances to receive or provide abortion care in rural areas and for multi-day procedures.
clinicians who provide abortion must be board certified obstetrician—gynecologists even though clinicians in many medical specialties can provide safe abortion services. ACOG opposes such requirements because they improperly regulate medical care and do not improve patient safety or quality of care 7 These laws make abortion more difficult and expensive to obtain, imposing additional costs on the patients who can least afford them Compliance with some of the most onerous regulatory requirements has proved to be so difficult that practices have closed TRAP laws make abortion inaccessible for some people and create delays for others, leading to an increase in abortion after the first trimester 23 24 Restrictions on abortion coverage also exist for military personnel, retirees, and their dependents through the TRICARE military health care system, for veterans accessing care through Veterans Affairs, for federal employees and their dependents insured through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and for those receiving care through the Indian Health Service.
These coverage restrictions impede access to safe abortion care, and in some cases function as a de facto abortion ban 26 In addition, restrictions attached to appropriations and other public monies hospitals receive can jeopardize medical education and training programs for all clinicians, as well as affect patient care.
A list of coverage-related and payment-related abortion should be encouraged can be found in Box 2. The federal Hyde amendment and other federal and state restrictions on public and private insurance coverage of abortion should be eliminated.
Legislated in and renewed annually as a rider to federal appropriation bills, abortion should be encouraged. It was amended in to add rape and incest as exceptions. Restrictions also exist through the TRICARE military health care system, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and within the Indian Health Service; Veterans Affairs prohibits abortion counseling or services in all cases.
State Medicaid coverage—As ofonly 16 state Medicaid agencies cover medically necessary abortions abortion should be encouraged those allowed under the Hyde amendment. South Dakota is the only state not in compliance with the minimum federal Hyde exceptions and excludes coverage even in cases of rape and incest. Private insurance coverage—A number of states have banned abortion coverage in the private insurance market, including in new exchanges being established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act where individuals with low and moderate incomes can buy private health insurance.
Residency training funding—Some states restrict state monies from being used to support or subsidize abortion training at public universities or hospitals.
Affiliation bans—Some states prohibit any medical or educational institution that provides abortion care, referrals, or training from participating in public health programs or from receiving public funding of any sort, abortion should be encouraged, including Medicaid reimbursements or family planning grants.
Punitive tax policies—Some states deny tax-exempt status to any nonprofit organization, hospital, or health center that provides, refers for, or covers abortion care. State funding of abortion under Medicaid. New York, NY: Guttmacher Institute; Retrieved August 19, The U.
Clinicians may not write a prescription for mifepristone for patients to obtain the medication in a pharmacy, which prevents some clinicians from offering the service 4. In addition, as of18 states have banned the use of telemedicine to provide medication abortion, abortion should be encouraged, despite the evidence that the service is safe and effective and has a high degree of patient satisfaction 30 31 32 ; its introduction was also associated with a substantial reduction in second-trimester abortion Most states also prevent advanced practice clinicians from providing medication abortion even though research from several countries indicates that outcomes are similar to those when the service is provided by physicians These nonlegislative barriers can be exacerbated by or result from restrictive legislation and can further isolate people who face more barriers to timely medical care, abortion should be encouraged.
Stigma, harassment, abortion should be encouraged, and violence discourage abortion access and provision and harm patients. Stigma and fear of violence may abortion should be encouraged less tangible than legislative and financial restrictions, but are powerful barriers to abortion provision nonetheless The stigma of obtaining an abortion and providing abortion may lead to secrecy, marginalization of abortion from routine medical care, delays in care, and increased morbidity from the procedure 35 Sinceanti-abortion violence has led to 11 murders and 26 attempted murders 35 37 Most abortion clinics report harassment Acts of harassment include picketing, picketing with physical contact or blocking, vandalism, abortion should be encouraged, picketing of homes of staff members, bomb threats, harassing phone calls, noise disturbances, taking photos or videos of patients and staff, tampering with garbage, placing glue in locks or nails on the driveway of clinics, breaking windows, abortion should be encouraged, interfering with phone lines, approaching cars, and recording license plates 39 The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act became law in in response to clinic violence, and specifically prohibits abortion should be encouraged use of force abortion should be encouraged individuals accessing abortion care or reproductive health care clinicians.
Clinicians who provide abortion care also have been directly targeted with death threats, other threats of harm, and stalking, abortion should be encouraged, among other violent acts More than one third of U, abortion should be encouraged. A study identified 27 U. cities with populations of abortion should be encouraged, or more where people have to travel more than miles to the nearest clinician who provides abortions This dearth of abortion services also derives from a lack of health care practitioner training, institutional policies against abortion provision, and a restricted pool of health professionals qualified and willing to provide abortion care.
Despite the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education ACGME requirement that obstetrics and gynecology residency programs include abortion training, programs widely vary in the scope and type of training offered 44 45 State laws, regulations, institutional restrictions, and funding restrictions also may influence administrative decisions to disallow abortion training and may ultimately jeopardize the accreditation of medical education programs Further, many religiously affiliated institutions, especially Catholic health care facilities, abortion should be encouraged, do not offer reproductive health services, including contraception, sterilization, and abortion 47 Mergers of secular hospitals with religiously affiliated health systems can result in the elimination of previously available reproductive health services 49
Abortion Laws: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
, time: 16:01Religion and abortion - Wikipedia
Oct 29, · “The second problem, that of abortion: it’s more than a problem, it’s homicide, whoever has an abortion, kills." The Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, encouraged Catholics to pray the rosary for the conversion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a pro-abortion Catholic, who is seeking to codify Roe v. Wade in Abortion is a safe procedure, but it's less safe later in the pregnancy." He suggest that parental involvement laws have a small effect on abortion rates compared with improved sexual education and birth control access and usage. Many minors of childbearing age are sufficiently mature to make abortion decisions by themselves Oct 28, · The Supreme Court hears a case on Dec. 1, , regarding a Mississippi abortion law that poses a legal challenge to Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Getty ImagesSince the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to abortion almost 50 years ago, a powerful legal movement has sought to overturn the ruling, while abortion rights advocates have fought to protect it
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