1
|
Zell B, Effland K, Snyder M, Hays K, Gordon W. Prescriptive Authority for Direct Entry Midwives in Washington State: Increasing Client Access to Contraception. J Midwifery Womens Health 2024; 69:600-605. [PMID: 38229277 DOI: 10.1111/jmwh.13606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Improving health and achieving health equity includes access to sexual and reproductive health care for all populations, especially those most in need. However, access to life-saving and life-affirming contraception with an individual's chosen perinatal provider can be impeded by restrictive regulations that limit scope and practice authority. This is especially true for the majority of community and direct entry midwives in the United States who have historically been unable to legally provide effective contraceptive methods. Recently, licensed midwives in Washington state were the first in the nation to achieve prescriptive authority, enabling their clients to directly obtain contraception and access to medications for common prenatal and postpartum conditions. Sustained advocacy efforts in the state's capitol enabled the Midwives' Association of Washington State to build relationships over time with legislators and government agencies to achieve this long-term goal. We present a successful midwifery-led innovation that achieved scope expansion for licensed midwives whose practice authority was limited by restrictive laws. Lessons learned are described and strategies offered to aid midwives and their advocates in other locales who want to improve health equity and access to contraception. Midwives are well positioned to provide this essential care to individuals living in underserved rural and urban areas and those from historically marginalized communities, but their ability to do so is limited by restrictive legislation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kristin Effland
- Department of Midwifery, Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington, USA
| | | | - Karen Hays
- Department of Midwifery, Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington, USA
| | - Wendy Gordon
- Department of Midwifery, Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
James JE. Reproductive Justice and Abolition: Important Lessons Black Feminists Have Been Teaching Us for Years. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2024; 24:55-58. [PMID: 38295241 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2023.2296415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
|
3
|
Hall B, Akwatu C, Danvers A. Reproductive Justice as a Framework for Abortion Care. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2023; 66:655-664. [PMID: 37750671 PMCID: PMC10840704 DOI: 10.1097/grf.0000000000000811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
This article presents an in-depth analysis of abortion access and rights within the Reproductive Justice framework, underscoring the health, social, and economic consequences of limited access. It emphasizes the critical role of abortion as essential, safe health care and highlights the complexities surrounding abortion decisions and the barriers faced by poor and historically marginalized populations. Amid the escalating access restrictions, the article concludes with a call to action for obstetricians and gynecologists and our allied health care providers to recognize, support, and advocate for safe, legal, and affordable abortion services as fundamental to health care equity and human rights.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Hall
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/ Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | | | - Antoinette Danvers
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/ Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Abortion Access and the Benefits and Limitations of Abortion- Permissive Legal Frameworks: Lessons from the United Kingdom. Camb Q Healthc Ethics 2023:1-13. [PMID: 36683589 DOI: 10.1017/s096318012200086x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
This paper argues that abortion access is an important subject for bioethics scholarship and reflects on the relationship between legal frameworks and access to care. The author uses the example of the United Kingdom to examine the benefits and limitations of abortion-permissive legal frameworks in terms of access. These are legal frameworks that enable the provision of abortion but subject to restrictions. An abortion-permissive regime-first in Great Britain and then in Northern Ireland-has gone some way to improving access to care over time. However, aspects of the regime (that lead to its description as permissive rather than supportive of abortion) have the potential to endanger abortion access in the future and so legal reform is necessary.
Collapse
|
5
|
Räsänen J, Gothreau C, Lippert-Rasmussen K. Does overruling Roe discriminate against women (of colour)? JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS 2022; 48:952-956. [PMID: 36180204 DOI: 10.1136/jme-2022-108504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
On 24 July 2022, the landmark decision Roe v. Wade (1973), that secured a right to abortion for decades, was overruled by the US Supreme Court. The Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organisation severely restricts access to legal abortion care in the USA, since it will give the states the power to ban abortion. It has been claimed that overruling Roe will have disproportionate impacts on women of color and that restricting access to abortion contributes to or amounts to structural racism. In this paper, we consider whether restricting abortion access as a consequence of overruling Roe could be understood as discrimination against women of color (and women in general). We argue that banning abortion is indirectly discriminatory against women of color and directly (but neither indirectly, nor structurally) discriminatory against women in general.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joona Räsänen
- CEPDISC - Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Claire Gothreau
- CEPDISC - Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen
- CEPDISC - Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Buchbinder M, Mishtal J, Singer EO, Wendland CL. Society for Medical Anthropology Statement on Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Decision. Med Anthropol Q 2022; 36:433-441. [PMID: 36433774 PMCID: PMC10098746 DOI: 10.1111/maq.12741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This statement summarizes key findings from anthropological and related scholarship on the harmful consequences of inadequate abortion access, leading the Society for Medical Anthropology to register profound concern about the recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson. After circulation to SMA members for input, a finalized version passed a membership vote by an overwhelming margin. This statement complements one produced by the Council for Anthropology and Reproduction, available here.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mara Buchbinder
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Social Medicine
| | - Joanna Mishtal
- University of Central Florida, Department of Anthropology
| | | | - Claire L Wendland
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Departments of Anthropology and Obstetrics and Gynecology
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Garland-Thomson R, Reynolds JM. Rethinking Fetal Personhood in Conceptualizing Roe. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:64-68. [PMID: 35917414 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
8
|
Moore CM, Taylor HA. More than Semantics: Abortion Access and Equity. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:68-69. [PMID: 35917425 PMCID: PMC9764843 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
9
|
Lanphier E. Abortion and the Intersection of Ethics, Activism, and Politics. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:72-74. [PMID: 35917427 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Lanphier
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Montoya M, Gray BA. See None, Do None, Teach None: How Dismantling Roe Impacts Medical Education and Physician Training. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:52-54. [PMID: 35917422 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Montoya
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Beverly A Gray
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Nippita S, Jung C, Oviedo JD, Quinn GP. Private Conversations, Public Debate. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:47-49. [PMID: 35917426 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
12
|
Hill BJ. De-Medicalizing Abortion. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:57-58. [PMID: 35917419 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
13
|
Goodwin M. Ending the Debate Whether State-Mandated Pregnancies are Matters of Bioethics Concern. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:31-33. [PMID: 35917418 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
14
|
Madigan-McCown L. A Health Disparity Framework for Abortion Eliminates Critical Discourse and Debate. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:70-71. [PMID: 35917421 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
15
|
Matthews MM, Lal A, Pacia D. The Role of Epistemic Injustice in Abortion Access Disparities. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:49-51. [PMID: 35917417 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
16
|
Miao L, Zhang H, Tian L, Wang Y. News Coverage of Abortion in Relation to Race and Class in the United States in 2021. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:88-90. [PMID: 35917429 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lihan Miao
- Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, People's Hospital of Henan University
- University of Durham
| | - Hui Zhang
- Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, People's Hospital of Henan University
| | - Li Tian
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University
| | - Yuming Wang
- Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, People's Hospital of Henan University
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Nobis N. Yes, All Bioethicists Should Engage Abortion Ethics, but Who Would Be Interested in What They Have to Say? THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:33-36. [PMID: 35917432 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|
18
|
Cunningham TV. Beware the Jackalopes. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2022; 22:75-77. [PMID: 35917423 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2089283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
|