Nursing Elective Abortion and Nursing Thesis

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Section 79-i of the New York State Civil Rights Law, passed in 1971, allows health care workers to "refuse to perform or assist" in abortion procedures "contrary to the conscience or religious beliefs" of the workers (Callahan, 1998). To invoke this protection, a worker must "file a prior written refusal" with the hospital. Violation of the law is a misdemeanor.

This means that nurses have an obligation to provide good care to women who have abortions, respecting their decisions and providing physical and psychological care. The association advises nurses to respect the fact that patients have the right to freedom from imposition of other's beliefs or judgmental attitudes.

However, many nurses have religious or cultural value and ethical beliefs which may stand in their way when it comes to providing care without imposing personal beliefs on patients who choose to abort. The association recognizes that nurses have the right to their own moral, ethical and religious beliefs (New York State Nurses Association, 2008). Thus, they have the right and responsibility to seek employment in areas where the care of women choosing abortions is not provided.

Fromer (1982) wrote an article encouraging nurses to take the time to understand their opinions and views on abortion. "Nurses need to be clear about why they believe as they do, and they must arrive at a point-of-view in a rational and logical manner," wrote Fromer. "To assist nurses in this task, the ethical issues surrounding abortion are enumerated and clarified. To do this, some of the philosophic and historic approaches to abortion and how a position can be logically argued should be examined.

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Since the beginning of recorded history, women have had abortion, although many religions forbade abortion for various reasons. For example, early Jews and Christians forbade abortions for two main reasons. First, they believe that it was wrong to take away a valuable life. And second, they needed more people to do practical tasks, such as physical work and defending against enemies. These types of arguments have little to do with the Western concept of abortion, argued Fromer (1982). The issues today, which nurses should consider, are centered on beliefs about whether or not the fetus is a human being, the rights of the pregnant woman as opposed to those of the fetus, and circumstances of an unwanted pregnancy. While some people believe that a human being is created at the moment of conception, others feel that a human being is formed at different milestones.

Regardless of how a particular nurse feels about abortion, the Supreme court ruled that individual states cannot interfere with a woman's action based on her personal convictions. This means that nurses should not take actions that violate this fundamental civil right.

In conclusion, while nurses are entitled to have negative attitudes toward elective abortions, they have an ethical obligation to provide excellent care to their patients, despite their beliefs. For this reason, nurses should determine their personal positions on abortion before accepting a job that involves this procedure.

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