elective abortion

Nursing

Elective Abortion and Nursing

Within the discipline of professional nursing, nurses are divided when it comes to their opinions concerning elective abortion. Just as there are pro-life and pro-choice supporters in the general population, there pro-life nurses and pro-choice nurses, some of whom feel very strongly about their beliefs. Because a nurse has an ethical responsibility to care for patients in need, it is important to address the issue of whether nurses are obligated to care for patients who undergo elective abortion surgery.

2008 study by Wilson and Haynie (2008) examined the basic social processes experienced by women who sought recovery assistance following an elective abortion. The researchers felt that nursing research on this topic was importance because abortion is reported to be the second most common surgery performed in the United States.

The study (Wilson and Haynie, 2008) revealed that the majority of these women suffered in silence because they were afraid that others would judge them. Thus, the researchers argued, nurses have many opportunities to provide recovery assistance following an elective abortion, in all clinical settings. In order to better facilitate this process, the researchers felt that nurses understand the experience of women as they recognize the negative outcomes and seek recovery assistance.

Williams confirmed that nurses must provide caring assistance to patients who undergo elective abortion surgery. According to Williams (2001): "Women with a history of elective abortion experienced grief in terms of loss of control, death anxiety, and dependency. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the intensity of grief in women who had a history of elective abortion and the comparison group, there was an overall trend toward higher grief intensities in the abortion group. Presence of living children, perceived pressure to have the abortion, and the number of abortions appear to affect the intensity of the short-term grief response."

Because many women experience very strong emotional distress during and following their abortion experience, it is important the nurses who assist in abortions provide care and empathy, regardless of their own personal beliefs and ethics (Wilson and Haynie, 2008). All of the study's participants described significant negative changes in personal behaviors after their experiences.

Nursing organizations across the country agree that providing care to abortion patients is a critical aspect of nursing. However, various statements call out that a nurse has the right to whatever opinion she holds and that it is up to each individual nurse to decide if they do not want to work in a place the performs abortions. For example, the New York State Nurses Association Position Statement on Abortion (2008) was created in response to legislative activity concerning abortion law, as well as requests from the professional nursing community. Nurses had requested clarity in regard to their rights and responsibilities and the rights of their patients who underwent elective abortions.

According to the New York State Nurses Association recognizes that abortion is a controversial issue, in which nurses and patients are in the center of. The association holds that both the nurse and the patient have individual rights that are clearly supported in the ANA Code for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (2001). According to the association: "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.'"

New York State law, like laws in many other states, supports this position. Section 79-i of the New York State Civil Rights Law, passed in 1971, allows health care workers to "refuse to perform or assist" in abortion procedures "contrary to the conscience or religious beliefs" of the workers (Callahan, 1998). To invoke this protection, a worker must "file a prior written refusal" with the hospital. Violation of the law is a misdemeanor.

This means that nurses have an obligation to provide good care to women who have abortions, respecting their decisions and providing physical and psychological care. The association advises nurses to respect the fact that patients have the right to freedom from imposition of other's beliefs or judgmental attitudes.

However, many nurses have religious or cultural value and ethical beliefs which may stand in their way when it comes to providing care without imposing personal beliefs on patients who choose to abort. The association recognizes that nurses have the right to their own moral, ethical and religious beliefs (New York State Nurses Association, 2008). Thus, they have the right and responsibility to seek employment in areas where the care of women choosing abortions is not provided.

Fromer (1982) wrote an article encouraging nurses to take the time to understand their opinions and views on abortion. "Nurses need to be clear about why they believe as they do, and they must arrive at a point-of-view in a rational and logical manner," wrote Fromer. "To assist nurses in this task, the ethical issues surrounding abortion are enumerated and clarified. To do this, some of the philosophic and historic approaches to abortion and how a position can be logically argued should be examined."