Abortion provider (PA or NP?)

September 10, 2006 2:33 PM

Does anyone know of a resource that goes state by state and looks at the legal qualifications to be an abortion provider?

My fiance is planning a medical career in women's health and is trying to decide wheter to pursue a path to become a Nurse Practioner (NP) or a Physician's Assitant (PA). While not her primary focus, she would like to choose the path in which she would be more likely to be able to be an abortion provider. When it comes to surgical abortions, 43 states have physician-only laws, but I have not been able to find similar information when it comes to medical abortions. I know that medical abortion laws vary widely from state to state with several allowing PA's and NP's to be involved.

Anyone know of a state by state listing of legal requirements or have guidance on which path she might take?

(I'm only interested in objective legal answers or professional thoughts. You can keep your opinions on the larger issue to yourself.)

posted by jlowen to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Yes, NARAL does an annual state-by-state review. (I know because I used to work on it when I was a baby lawyer -- we used to publish it in book form but it looks like it's now on-line.) If NARAL doesn't include the necessary information in its publications, you could call and ask to speak to one of the lawyers -- we had files of all of the state laws and would answer questions from the public. The other good organization is NAF (National Abortion Federation) -- they should know.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 2:47 PM on September 10, 2006

Regardless of what she finds out about current conditions from that report, I'd call the NARAL lawyers to also get their opinion on where it looks like legal requirements are headed in the next decade or so. It would stink if the states started changing the requirements while she's in school, graduating into a profession that can't allow her to practice as she intended.

Given how newer developments like Plan B are expanding where and whether abortion is available, she may also want to look at how she might be able to contribute as a pharmacist, pharmacy tech, or pharma researcher.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 6:38 PM on September 10, 2006

nakedcodemonkey, Plan B does not cause an abortion; it's birth control. I'm not sure what that article has to do with abortions? As far as I've read, pharmacists do not dispense mifepristone, which is the drug used for medical abortions; they just can dispense EC, which, as I said, is birth control.
posted by occhiblu at 9:01 PM on September 10, 2006

Occhiblu, the connection is explicit in the article.

"...[the pharmacist] decided that he could not in good conscience provide the pills, which he believes can cause an abortion. Similar refusals have been reported in Georgia, Alabama, New Hampshire, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin.... Arkansas, South Dakota, Mississippi, and Georgia already have laws that give pharmacists the right to refuse, and many other states will decide one way or another in the next year. (See also this analysis)

Of course Plan B is contraception. But as the article details, there are many conservative pharmacists (and legislators) who hold the conviction that it an abortifacient and regard dispensing it as delivery of abortion services. And their opinion has real consquences for the patient.

Someone preparing for a career today has to consider the long-range prospects. From a pro-life perspective, refusal to dispense EC = refusal to abort. From a pro-choice perspective, refusal increases the odds that the woman will need to seek abortion. Regardless of which side of the issue one is on, it should be clear that as pharmaceutical alternatives continue to expand, so will individual pharmacists' role in guaranteeing or restricting access to such alternatives. It's a wholly different route, yet a realistic one, for achieving the OP's girlfriend's goals.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 2:47 PM on September 11, 2006

I agree that a lot of the battle surrounding birth control and reproductive health in general has shifted to the pharmacies, but becoming a pharmacist would not make her an abortion provider.

If the woman's goal is providing abortion services, then becoming a pharmacist does not serve those goals. If the actual goal is helping make sure women have access to all the reproductive health resources available, then yes, you're right, I can see how it would. But the religious right's done a stunningly good job at conflating Plan B with abortion (to the point where it seems most people think EC and RU-486 are the same thing), and I want to make sure that's not happening here.
posted by occhiblu at 3:14 PM on September 11, 2006

Response by poster: Thank you everybody for your help. After reading your answers, she now has a few ideas of where to look for more info. Then she commented on how great of community this is.

Thank you everyone!
posted by jlowen at 6:37 AM on September 14, 2006