Position Statement

Abortion

The intent for the development in 1988 of the New York State Nurses Association Position Statement on Abortion was in response to the increasing legislative activity concerning abortion law, as well as requests from the professional nursing community with regard to their rights and responsibilities and the rights of their patients pertaining to the issue of abortion. The New York State Nurses Association has, through its Councils on Ethical Practice and Human Rights, continued to study and research the issues surrounding abortion and reaffirms the position of the rights of women and nurses as they relate to elective and/or therapeutic abortion.

Definitions

Position

The New York State Nurses Association recognizes that:

  1. The 1973 decision of the Supreme Court legalizing abortion remains a controversial issue. Advocacy groups representing differing points of view on the issues surrounding abortion, whether pro-life or pro-choice, continue to be locked in the legislature, courts, and media of the states and the nation while debating their points of view. In the midst of this national conflict are the nurses and those patients that are directly and actively involved in abortion procedures.
  2. The nurse and the patient have individual rights that are clearly supported in the ANA Code for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (2001). The registered professional nurse has professional obligations that must be maintained while providing care to women who choose to have abortions. Additionally, New York Civil Rights Law provides that “no person who refuses in writing on the basis of conscience or religious beliefs may be required to perform or assist in an abortion.” (Goulds, 2004) These rights and responsibilities can be described as follows:

    Patients' Rights:

    • Women have individual rights to decide if they will bear a child and, under the law, they may decide to have a legal abortion.
    • Women have the right to information regarding alternatives.
    • The patient who chooses to have a legal abortion has a right to a timely procedure, as well as competent, supportive care, both physical and psychological.
    • The patient who chooses to have a legal abortion has a right to freedom from imposition of other's beliefs or judgmental attitudes.
    • The patient who chooses to have a legal abortion has a right to information and counseling in an environment where there is mutual trust and personalized care before, during and after the abortion is performed.
    • The patient who chooses to have a legal abortion has a right to receive care in an environment that provides privacy and specific nursing expertise.

    Registered Professional Nurses' Rights and Responsibilities include:

    • The responsibility and obligation to provide competent and supportive nursing care.
    • The responsibility to provide the patient with objective information and to offer access to resources before, during and after a voluntary termination of pregnancy.
    • The responsibility to provide care without imposing personal beliefs on patients who choose to abort.
    • A right to educational preparation, and the responsibility to obtain such, to assist and meet the emotional, physical and psychological needs of women who are considering or have had a voluntary termination of pregnancy.
    • The right to their own moral, ethical and religious beliefs.
    • The right to refuse to participate in a voluntary termination of pregnancy, except in an emergency situation, where the patient's needs do not allow for substitution.
    • A right not to be subjected to coercion, censure or discipline for reasons of such refusal.
    • A right and responsibility to seek employment in areas where the care of women choosing abortions will not be assigned.

Recommendations

The New York Nurses Association and the Councils on Ethical Practice and Human Rights support the following actions for professional registered nursing with regard to abortion procedures:

  1. In recognition of an equal right to privacy and personal dignity, no patient should be subjected to prejudicial attitudes or undue pressure on the part of nurses regarding a private individual decision on abortion.
  2. No individual patient or group of patients should be left unattended or uncared for in any stage of an abortion procedure. All efforts should be made by health administrators to provide the patient with services of registered nurses who do not object to the concept of abortion.
  3. Registered nurses who object to participating in abortion procedures and/or caring for patients before or after the procedure are obligated to make their specific objections known, in writing, to their employers. (Goulds, 2004)
  4. Registered nurses who object to direct counseling of the patient seeking abortion are obliged to refer the patient to the agency or provider where counseling can be obtained.
  5. The New York State Nurses Association reaffirms its support of legislation protecting the rights of professional nurses who refuse to participate in any abortion if it violates conscience or religious beliefs, supporting the view that abortion is a moral rather than a social or health issue.

Approved by the Board of Directors, 5/18-19/88, 3/90. Reviewed/Revised by the Councils on Ethical Practice and Human Rights on 8/27/04. Approved by the Board of Directors on 9/15/04.

Note: The use of the term “patient” anywhere in this document is intended to be generic and refers to the recipient of nursing care.

References

Abortion, for whatever reason. (2004, July 23). New York Times, pp. A-22.

American Nurses Association. (1996). “Position statement on reproductive health.” Washington, DC: Author.

American Nurses Association. (2001). “Code for nurses with interpretive statements.” Washington, DC: Author.

Bandman, E. L., & Bandman, B. (1995). Nursing ethics through the lifespan. Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange.

Bourguignon, A., Briscoe, B., & Nemzer, L. (1999). Genetic abortion: Considerations for patient care. “Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing”, 13(2), 47.

Curtin, L. (1993). Abortion: A tangle of rights. “Nursing Management”, 24(2), 26-31.

“Gould's Consolidated Laws of New York” (2004), Chapter 6 - Civil Rights Law, Article 7 - Miscellaneous rights, Section 79-I - Discrimination against person who refuses to perform certain acts prohibited.

MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (2002). “Abortion”. Retrieved September 23, 2004, from, http://www.medlineplus.gov/encyclopedia.html.

New York State Nurses Association. (1989). “Resolution on reproductive health services.” Latham, NY: Author.

“Nurses rights and responsibilities related to abortion and sterilization.” (1999). Retrieved July 14, 2004, from http://www.awhonn.org/awhonn/?pg=873-6230-7000-4810-5620-7360

Rosenfield, A. (1995). Abortion. In W. T. Reich (Ed.), “Encyclopedia of bioethics” (Vol. 1, pp. 1-42). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Macmillan.

Ventura, M. (1999). Where nurses stand on abortion. “RN”, 62(i3), 1-5.

“Who decides? A state-by-state report on the status of women's reproductive rights.” (2004). Retrieved July 16, 2004, from http://www.naral.org/yourstate/whodecides/states/newyork/refusal.cfm

For more information on nursing practice, contact NYSNA's Education, Practice and Research Program at 518.782.9400, ext. 282 or by e-mail.