The first step in getting an abortion is finding a clinic or medical office that provides abortion services. You deserve to have the best possible experience. Find a provider online or call the NAF Hotline 1-800-772-9100 to find a safe, reputable clinic.
All clinics are different, but there are some basics that you should know about. The following questions will give you an idea of a clinic's practices.
- Is the provider licensed by the state?
- Does the clinic do a pregnancy test? Will the clinic do either a pelvic exam or a sonogram to determine how far along you are in the pregnancy?
- What methods of abortion do they offer (surgical abortion, medical abortion)?
- Will the clinic staff explain the procedure to you, making sure you understand your decision and the risks and benefits of your options?
- Will you also have the opportunity to have all your questions answered?
- What is included in the cost? Could there be additional charges? (You should know all of the costs up front.)
- Will the procedure be provided on the premises?
- Will you have a blood test for anemia and Rh factor?
- Is there a follow-up exam and is it included in the fee?
- Does the clinic have a working relationship with a local hospital?
NAF is the professional association of abortion providers in North America. Our member clinics care for more than half the women who choose abortion each year in the United States. In order to become a member, a clinic must complete a rigorous application process. Member clinics have agreed to comply with our standards for quality and care, updated annually in our Clinical Policy Guidelines, which set the evidence-based standards for abortion care in North America. NAF periodically conducts site visits to confirm that our clinics are in compliance with our guidelines.
The best way to find a clinic is to use our online directory of NAF providers or call the NAF Hotline for a referral. However, you can also use the yellow pages of your phone book by looking under "Abortion Providers."
Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) have a long history of deception. For example, some CPCs intentionally choose their name to mislead women into believing that they offer a wide range of services, including family planning and abortion care, when in fact they offer neither. CPCs may advertise in phone books near the headings of "Abortion" or under "Abortion Alternatives," "Women's Organizations," "Pregnancy," "Medical," "Women's Centers" or "Clinics." CPCs may locate themselves near clinics that offer abortions in a deliberate attempt to lure patients into visiting their centers.
Although CPCs portray themselves as medical clinics and urge women to come in for options counseling, they do not provide full options counseling and generally will not refer for abortion care or birth control. CPCs have used tactics intended to delay and even harass or intimidate women from having abortions and have given false and misleading information about abortion.
For your own protection, ask the organization you contact if they provide abortion care or give abortion referrals. Evasive and unclear answers to this question should make you suspicious. Facts about Crisis Pregnancy Centers
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