{"id":3216,"date":"2013-10-20T06:05:14","date_gmt":"2013-10-20T10:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.providecare.org\/?p=3216"},"modified":"2024-08-27T17:42:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T17:42:08","slug":"talk-everyone-role-abortion-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.providecare.org\/blog\/talk-everyone-role-abortion-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Talk to Her: Everyone Has a Role in Abortion Access"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photo by Nina Robinson\/The Verbatim Agency\/Getty Images<\/em><\/h5>\n

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By Melanie Zurek, EdM<\/a><\/h5>\n
This post was originally published on HuffPost<\/a>\u00a0in February 2014.<\/h5>\n

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Abortion access is a difficult topic in this country, one that\u2019s often overwhelmed by talking about legislation and politics rather than its role as part of women\u2019s basic healthcare. Although scarcity of abortion providers is a large problem, an even larger issue is the widening disparity in access along lines of wealth and geography: while a privileged woman in a coastal city has her choice of providers, a poor woman in the South may have only a single provider in her state. This makes abortion harder to access for exactly those women who already face disproportionate burdens for no reason other than where they live and how much money they have. It calls upon us to do better.<\/p>\n

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As abortion services become scarcer and barriers increase, locating and accessing abortion care requires increasing levels of assistance and support, especially for women dealing with poverty and difficult life circumstances. Health and social service providers working in a variety of settings are a core part of a woman\u2019s network of care and possess a vital interest in and capacity to provide this support, but too often these groups are neither prepared nor expected to be able to talk with a woman about unintended pregnancy and abortion.<\/p>\n

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Limiting discussion of abortion to only a handful of specialized settings diminishes women\u2019s ability to access care and reinforces the stigma of abortion, which negatively impacts both abortion patients and abortion providers. This is especially true in communities that lack a sufficient number of abortion providers, including rural communities and many states in the Midwest and South.<\/p>\n

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While many providers are uncomfortable or unable to directly deliver abortion care, doctors, nurses, social workers, case managers, and counselors can all play an important role talking to women facing an unintended pregnancy and connecting them to care \u2014 a role they already play around dozens of other needs women face. This not only helps women access care, but also reduces the burdens of stigma and isolation and builds a more supportive environment as it shifts the focus away from the politics of abortion and onto the woman.<\/p>\n

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Provide has produced a short video call to action called \u201cTalk to Her\u201d in support of this goal. Our vision is that all women can count on the support of their existing care providers when it comes to unintended pregnancy and abortion.<\/p>\n

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