Haining, C. M., Keogh, L. A., & Savulescu, J. (2022). The unethical Texas heartbeat law. Prenatal Diagnosis, 42(5), 535-541. https://doi.org/10.1002/pd.6136
">Most recently the U.S Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion. Since then, accessing abortion care has become increasingly difficult as many states move towards taking action to deny abortion care. Currently, in the state of Texas, abortion is banned with no exceptions for rape or incest. The Texas Heartbeat Act was signed into effect in 2021 and prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected (Haining et al., 2022).
This bill causes a barrier to healthcare delivery as it limits a woman’s autonomy to decide about their sexual and reproductive health. Furthermore, the bill limits evidence-based medical practice as providers might not be willing to terminate a pregnancy that threatens the well-being of the mother or that could lead to mortality (Haining et al., 2022). Taking these things into consideration, regardless of law, abortions might pose a health threat. This is because some women might opt to have an unsafe abortion leading to other medical problems.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that restrictions on abortions create obstacles to safe medical care and disproportionately impacts underserved communities (ACOG, n.d.). Therefore, the change that would be recommended is for these laws to be overturned and women have the right to choose if they have a child. Personal decision-making by women and their doctors should not be replaced by political ideology. This change would positively impact patient care as women would have a better psychological well-being knowing that they were able to make the best decision for them and their circumstance. As previously mentioned, unsafe abortions can lead to maternal death. Therefore, women would be able to have safe abortions with the proper medical care. Lastly, social and economic factors can impact a patient’s health. Factors such as financial stability and poverty status could worsen if women are restricted by laws that prevent abortions. Overall, as doctoral prepared nurses we should understand that women might have varying beliefs when it comes to this discussion. It is our duty to provide and ensure quality and the safest care is delivered regardless of what choice a woman might make.
ACOG. (n.d.). Increasing access to abortion. value is what Coveo indexes and uses as the title in Search Results.–> ACOG. https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2020/12/increasing-access-to-abortion
Haining, C. M., Keogh, L. A., & Savulescu, J. (2022). The unethical Texas heartbeat law. Prenatal Diagnosis, 42(5), 535-541. https://doi.org/10.1002/pd.6136
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