Read what professional organizations are saying about certified nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants and choice. These statements and resolutions adopted by professional organizations show support for the increased role of certified nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants involved in abortion care.
The American Public Health Association:
- Supports the provision of first trimester surgical and medical abortion by appropriately trained NPs, CNMs, and PAs;
- Supports efforts to overcome legal and regulatory obstacles which limit the participation of NPs, CNMs, and PAs in abortion;
- Encourages NP, midwifery, and PA education and training programs to provide didactic and clinical training in abortion services, such as options counseling and pre- and post-abortion care, and in abortion techniques, for those who desire such training;
- Urges the inclusion of NPs, CNMs, and PAs in the labeling of medical abortion pharmaceuticals; and
- Urges health professionals to educate themselves, their colleagues, and the public about the skills of NPs, CNMs, and PAs and their competence to provide abortions.
- Excerpted from APHA Resolution No. 9917, 1999
"Urges medical, nursing and public health schools, residency training programs, and midwifery and physician assistant programs to develop and incorporate materials on the medical need, procedures, and technology, as well as the history and public health aspects of abortion into current curricula."
- APHA Resolution No. 9117, 1991
"AMWA will work to increase the number of abortion providers by supporting initiatives to improve and increase training for medical students, residents, and physicians in the full range of abortion procedures, and to add adequately trained Nurse-Midwives, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to the pool of potential abortion providers."
- Position Statement adopted by the House of Delegates, November 1999
"Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) endorses the training of physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants in the provision of abortion services."
- Adopted by PRCH's Board of Directors, May 1999
"That to address the shortage of health care providers who perform abortions, the College encourages programs to train physicians and other licensed health care professionals to provide abortion services in collaborative settings."
- Statement of ACOG's Executive Board, January 1994
"Whereas, the purpose of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Reproductive Health is to 'assure quality reproductive health services which guarantee reproductive freedom and to protect and promote the delivery of these services by nurse practitioners';
"Let it be resolved that NANPRH believes that nurse practitioners, with appropriate preparation and medical collaboration, are qualified to perform abortions."
- Resolution on Nurse Practitioners as Abortion Providers, October 1991
"The International Confederation of Midwives believes that a woman who has had an abortion, whether spontaneous or induced, has the same need for care as a woman who has given birth. In keeping with this belief, the midwife should:
I. consider such care to be within her role;
II. provide any immediate care necessary following abortion;
III. appropriately refer for any further treatment that may be required and which is beyond the limits of her practice;
IV. provide education concerning the woman's future health; this education to include family planning;
V. recognize the emotional, psychological, and social support which may be needed by the woman and respond appropriately.
- ICM Resolution 96/23/PP: "Care of Women Post-Abortion." Adopted by Council, May 1996, Oslo, Norway
The ACNM has adopted the following positions:
- That every woman has the right to make reproductive choices
- That every woman has the right to access factual, unbiased information about reproductive choices, in order to make an informed decision; and
- That women with limited means should have access to financial resources for their reproductive choices.
- Approved by the Board of Directors, February 3, 1991
In 1991, the ACNM asked its membership whether it wanted to rescind a 1971 statement prohibiting members from providing abortions. Members voted to remove the prohibition. The ACNM leadership wrote in the association's newsletter Quickening that the vote did not mean the ACNM has gone on record for or against abortion. The vote meant that individual CNMs now have the option to become involved in abortion service provision.
"The AAPA affirms a patient's right of access to any legal medical treatment or procedure made with the advice and guidance of their health care provider and performed in a licensed hospital or appropriate medical facility.
"The AAPA supports the free exchange of information between the patient and provider and opposes any intrusion into the provider/patient relationship through restrictive informed consent laws, biased patient education or information, or restrictive government requirements of medical facilities.
"The AAPA opposes attempts to restrict the availability of reproductive health care."
- Policy adopted by the AAPA House of Delegates, May 1992
"In 1992, the Board of Directors of the Association of Physician Assistants in Obstetrics and Gynecology (APAOG) voted to support the policies of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) regarding reproductive health."
- Statement of the Association of Physician Assistants in Obstetrics and Gynecology, September 9, 1997
*Note: These organizations have also endorsed the recommendations of NAF's 1997 symposium report, "The Role of Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and Nurse-Midwives in Providing Abortion." Available online (PDF file, 209K) or order a bound copy.
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