If you’re considering an abortion, you may have questions about what you’re agreeing to and what information you should receive beforehand. Those aren’t questions you should be afraid to ask. In fact, understanding the answers is an important part of abortion informed consent.
Abortion informed consent is designed to make sure patients understand the procedure or medication, potential risks, alternatives, and what to expect before making a decision.
Informed consent isn’t simply signing a form. It means receiving information you can understand about a medical treatment or procedure, having a chance to ask questions, and voluntarily deciding whether you want to proceed.
What Is Informed Consent?
Informed consent means that you have been given enough relevant information to understand a proposed medical treatment and decide whether you want it.
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) states that informed consent is part of the accepted standard of care for patients undergoing medical or surgical procedures and that patients should be informed about potential complications.[1]
In practical terms, informed consent means you should understand important information such as:
- What treatment or procedure is being recommended
- Why it is being offered
- What will happen
- Potential risks and complications
- What you can expect afterward
- What follow-up care may be necessary
- What alternatives are available
You should also have the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers you understand.
Why Is Informed Consent Important Before an Abortion?
Abortion is a medical intervention. Depending on the circumstances, it may involve a surgical procedure or medications. Either way, you should understand what you’re agreeing to beforehand.
For example, before making a decision, you should know:
How far along is my pregnancy?
Gestational age can affect which abortion methods are available and the risks associated with them. Learn more about why an ultrasound is important before an abortion.
What exactly will happen?
You should understand the recommended abortion method and what you can expect before, during, and afterward.
What are the possible risks and complications?
Every medical treatment has potential risks. Your healthcare provider should explain the risks that are relevant to the procedure or medication you are considering.
What happens if there is a complication?
You should know whom to contact and where you can receive medical care if a problem occurs.
What are my alternatives?
Understanding your options is also part of making an informed decision.
Informed Consent Also Means a Voluntary Decision
Information is only one part of informed consent. Your decision should also be voluntary.
When you’re facing an unexpected pregnancy, you may feel pressure to make a decision quickly. You may value advice from your boyfriend, parents, friends, or other people you trust. But no one should force, threaten, or manipulate you into a medical decision.
If someone is pressuring you to have an abortion, tell a healthcare professional.
North Carolina law, for example, specifically addresses coercion as part of abortion informed consent. State law requires abortion-related information to be presented individually and in person so that a patient has an adequate opportunity to ask questions and to help ensure that she is not being coerced.[2]
What About the Abortion Pill?
Informed consent is also important for medication abortion, commonly called the abortion pill.
The FDA-approved medication abortion regimen uses the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol to end an intrauterine pregnancy through 10 weeks gestation.[3]
Although medication abortion isn’t a surgical procedure, it is still medical treatment. Before making a decision about medication abortion, it is important to understand how the abortion pill works and why determining the pregnancy’s location and gestational age can matter.
Under the FDA’s Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), the healthcare provider must review the Patient Agreement Form with the patient and explain the risks of the regimen before prescribing mifepristone. Patients must also receive the FDA-approved Medication Guide.[3]
The FDA states that healthcare providers certified to prescribe mifepristone must be able to accurately date pregnancies, diagnose ectopic pregnancies, arrange surgical intervention when necessary, and ensure patients have access to medical facilities for emergency care.[3]
That is another reason informed consent shouldn’t be treated as “just paperwork.”
Before you take any medication to end a pregnancy, It’s important to understand what the medication is intended to do, potential risks, what to expect, what follow-up may be needed, and what to do if a complication occurs.
Questions to Ask Before Consenting to an Abortion
A useful way to think about informed consent is to ask yourself whether you can honestly answer “yes” to the following questions:
- Do I know how far along my pregnancy is?
- Do I understand which abortion method is being offered to me?
- Do I understand what will happen during the procedure or treatment?
- Do I understand the potential risks and complications?
- Do I know what I may experience afterward?
- Do I know which symptoms could indicate that I need medical attention?
- Do I know whom to contact if I experience a complication?
- Do I understand what follow-up care may be needed?
- Do I know what could happen if the abortion is incomplete or the pregnancy continues?
- Do I understand the alternatives available to me?
- Have I had an opportunity to ask my questions?
- Have those questions been answered in language I understand?
- Am I making this decision voluntarily rather than because someone is forcing or pressuring me?
- Do I feel that I have enough information to understand what I am consenting to?
If you can’t answer “yes” to these questions, ask for additional information before making a decision.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
Medical terminology can be confusing, especially when you’re already dealing with the stress of an unexpected pregnancy.
You don’t have to pretend that you understand something when you don’t.
Try asking:
“Can you explain that in a different way?”
“What are the risks?”
“If this doesn’t work as expected, what happens next?”
“What are my other options?”
“What should I expect afterward?”
“Who do I call if I have a problem?”
Those are reasonable questions before any significant medical treatment.
What Does North Carolina Require?
If you live in North Carolina, state law has specific informed-consent requirements for both surgical and medication abortion, including requirements involving the timing and manner in which information is provided.
Because those requirements are detailed, we’ll cover them separately in Part 2: North Carolina Abortion Informed Consent Laws.
Understanding the law is useful, but remember the larger point: informed consent isn’t simply about completing a required form. It’s about understanding your medical care before agreeing to it.
Key Takeaways
You deserve understandable information. You deserve the opportunity to ask questions and request clarification. And you deserve to understand what you’re consenting to before making a medical decision.
Take your first step to becoming fully-informed about all your pregnancy options by scheduling a consultation with Hope’s Pathway Chatham.
Hope’s Pathway Chatham is a pregnancy help ministry supporting women, men, and families facing an unplanned pregnancy in Siler City and the larger Chatham County area of North Carolina. We provide medically-accurate and evidence-based information to help you understand all your options, so that you can make an informed decision. Share your thoughts, ask questions, and explore your options without fear of judgment. Make an appointment today.
Sources
[2] North Carolina General Assembly. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-21.90 — Assurance of informed consent.