Navigating Abortion Laws and Reproductive Health: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients and Medical Providers
Are you pregnant? Do you think you may be pregnant? If so, you may find yourself wondering what your options are. At this point, many people begin looking for abortion information and find the waters to be muddied. The decisions you’re facing are stressful enough as it is. Our goal is to equip you with the facts about abortion so you can make an informed decision about your pregnancy.
Confirming Pregnancy and Early Steps
Well, first things first. You’ll want to confirm whether you’re pregnant or not. A urine test will identify the pregnancy hormone, also known as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). They are highly accurate in their detection of hCG levels. However, if you took the test close to the time you missed your period, you may get a more accurate reading now that some time has gone by. The hCG concentration increases each day during early pregnancy, so it may be ideal to test yourself about a week after missing your period.
Two Options for Urine Testing:
- The home pregnancy test (HPT): These have been on the market for several decades and tend to be quite accurate.
- Clinical testing: Going into a clinic for your urine test should take away some of the stress of human error. This is also an opportunity to gather additional information in a safe, confidential setting.
As effective as these tests are, there’s always the chance for error. That’s why you’ll want to confirm your pregnancy with an ultrasound. The ultrasound will confirm whether you have a viable pregnancy. It will also give you a more accurate dating of your pregnancy.
Abortion Information and Medical Facts
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “a legal induced abortion is defined as an intervention performed by a licensed clinician (e.g., a physician, nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) that is intended to terminate an ongoing pregnancy.” That said, there are several types of possible abortions.
Miscarriage
Miscarriage, also known as spontaneous abortion, can be defined as “a pregnancy that ends on its own, within the first 20 weeks of gestation.” This is the most common way a pregnancy is lost, with 10-25% of all clinically recognized pregnancies ending in miscarriage.
Resources for Medical Providers: Know Your State’s Abortion Laws
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, medical providers in states where abortion is banned or severely restricted have struggled to understand how state laws apply to them and the care they give their patients. The resulting confusion and fear of prosecution has led to patients being denied essential health care, resulting in serious harm.
To equip medical providers with the tools they need to provide care in a post-Roe world, the Abortion Defense Network developed a collection of 26 state-specific guides—intended for use by providers who face the greatest confusion and threat of prosecution around providing abortion care. The guides clarify a variety of topics including the legality of providing:
- Abortion care under a state abortion ban’s exceptions or federal law, such as in emergency situations, and the applicable reporting and documentation requirements;
- Counseling and referral information about abortion;
- Birth control, including emergency contraception;
- And miscarriage management.
| Resource Name | Scope of Coverage |
|---|---|
| Know Your State’s Abortion Laws Guides | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. |
Medication Abortion and Telehealth Regulations
A new KFF issue brief explains the newly revised Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy on medication abortion and the differential impact this could have on states by assessing the intersection of federal policy regarding dispensing medication abortion pills with state laws regulating the provision of abortion services.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, dispensing medication abortion via telehealth was limited by a FDA requirement which allowed only certified clinicians to dispense mifepristone, the medication abortion pill, at a health care setting. After temporarily suspending the enforcement of the requirement during the pandemic public health emergency, the FDA permanently lifted the requirement on December 16, 2021.
While this change will likely expand access to medication abortion in some states, many states have other policies that will still restrict medication abortion via telehealth. The new brief reviews state requirements and regulations that affect the availability of medication abortion via telehealth, including which states have directly banned telehealth abortions already. If you are an abortion care provider or supporter with questions, contact the Abortion Defense Network. They can help you understand your rights and provide you with legal resources.