Medicine

Doctors Can Reclaim Power to Provide Care Despite Abortion Bans

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This article presents a framework for healthcare providers to maximize the provision of legal reproductive care within jurisdictions that have implemented abortion bans. The authors outline strategies for clinicians to maintain medical agency and deliver evidence-based care while navigating restrictive legal environments. The framework focuses on understanding legal boundaries, clinical decision-making protocols, and patient counseling approaches that remain permissible under various state-level abortion restrictions.


This guidance is critically relevant for healthcare providers practicing in states with abortion bans, as it helps them understand what care they can legally provide while protecting both patient health and their own medical licenses. The framework aims to prevent unnecessary delays or denials of care that may occur when providers are uncertain about legal parameters.


New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

Source: Maximizing Legal Care under Bans on Abortion Provision — A Framework for Reclaiming Agency