Topic: Work with Health Care Providers

Who can provide abortion care? Considerations for law and policy makers.

For women who want to end their pregnancies, laws that allow only medical doctors to provide abortion are real barriers. Abortion can safely be provided by nurses, midwives, paramedical personnel and other midlevel providers. Women who have correct information can take pills to end a pregnancy safely outside a health facility. However, many abortion laws require the involvement of one or more medical doctors. These laws criminalize women and other health professionals who end pregnancies safely without a doctor. Under doctor-only laws, health systems—particularly in the global south—cannot train enough abortion providers to make abortion accessible to all women. Doctor-only laws discriminate against women who belong to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and who are least likely to have access to medical doctors. Lawmakers need not designate who can provide abortion in the law. Documents such as national health standards and guidelines are better suited to clarify who are authorized providers. This publication explains how Standards and Guidelines, enacted by the Ministry of Health and ideally updated every few years, can reflect the latest scientific evidence in abortion care.

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Youth act for safe abortion: A training guide for future health professionals

This guide is a resource for future health professionals who want to learn about and engage in abortion issues. Abortion is a critical but often neglected area of women’s rights, women’s health and health science education. The guide was developed for health sciences students—including students in medicine, nursing, midwifery, pharmacology, public health and other related fields—and can be adapted for other audiences too.

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Servicios de aborto para las mujeres jóvenes: Un juego de herramientas para la capacitación

Este juego de herramientas fue creado para proporcionar información y orientación sobre la prestación y accesibilidad de servicios de aborto inducido a mujeres jóvenes (entre 10 y 24 años de edad), según corresponda. Ofrece a capacitadores con experiencia antecedentes, materiales, instrucciones y consejos necesarios para facilitar las sesiones de capacitación de manera eficaz. Dado que los estudios de investigación realizados muestran pocas diferencias en las necesidades clínicas de las mujeres jóvenes en comparación con adultas, el juego de herramientas contiene más información sobre promoción y defensa (advocacy), alianzas y prestación de servicios que sobre temas clínicos. Es un recurso mundial para prestadores de servicios de salud, capacitadores, gerentes y asesores técnicos de programas de servicios de aborto, pero algunos materiales también se pueden utilizar para promover la participación de jóvenes, formuladores de políticas grupos comunitarios, donantes, promotores y otras partes interesadas.

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Clinical Mentoring and Provider Support for Abortion-Related Care

This training manual is for clinical mentors and others providing clinical and programmatic support to health-care providers offering abortion-related care. It includes content, activities and materials to improve their knowledge, attitudes and skills for clinical mentoring and provider support.

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Access for Everybody: Disability inclusion in abortion and contraceptive care – OVERVIEW

Despite being a considerable percentage of the population, people with disabilities are grossly underserved and neglected by sexual and reproductive health services, particularly those focused on safe abortion and contraceptive care. While donors, sexual and reproductive health program implementers, universities and activists are beginning to examine the needs and rights of people with disabilities, considerable gaps persist in the specific areas of safe abortion and contraceptive care.

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Access for Everybody: Disability inclusion in abortion and contraceptive care – GUIDE

This guide is a resource for program implementers and managers, technical advisors and trainers who design interventions to improve access to abortion and contraceptive care. It offers strategies for improving disability inclusion in policy, service delivery and community engagement interventions and can be adapted to meet the unique needs of each context. Recommendations are based on the human rights model of disability, which includes a “twin-track” approach that promotes the empowerment of people with disabilities by creating disability-specific initiatives and integrating disability inclusion in general programming. Active and meaningful participation of people with disabilities throughout all stages of planning, implementing and evaluating abortion and contraceptive care interventions is a core principle underlying each recommendation included in this guide.

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A report on the Expanding the Provider Base Workshop. Bangkok, Thailand, January 19-21, 2013

A report on the Expanding the Provider Base Workshop hosted by Ipas in 2013. The workshop brought together delegates from nine countries in Africa, Asia and North America and facilitated the sharing of resources and strategies related to expanding the role of non-physician providers in abortion-related care. It details discussion of key topics at the workshop, including the need for and evidence behind expanding cadres of CAC/PAC providers.

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Joe Cherabie: Why medical students need training on safe abortion

Ipas works with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) to train medical students from around the world on the importance of safe abortion access for women’s health. Here, Joe Cherabie, a medical student in Lebanon and IFMSA student trainer on safe abortion, explains why he believes these trainings are so important.

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Kelly Thompson: Why medical students need training on safe abortion

Ipas works with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) to train medical students from around the world on the importance of safe abortion access for women’s health. Here, Joe Cherabie, a medical student in Lebanon and IFMSA student trainer on safe abortion, explains why he believes these trainings are so important.

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About Us

We work with partners around the world to advance reproductive justice by expanding access to abortion and contraception.

Our Work

The global movement for legal, accessible abortion is growing. Our staff and partners in countries as diverse as Bolivia, Malawi and India are working to ensure all people can access high-quality abortion care.

Where We Work

The global movement for legal, accessible abortion is growing. Our staff and partners in countries as diverse as Bolivia, Malawi and India are working to ensure all people can access high-quality abortion care.

Resources

Our materials are designed to help reproductive health advocates and professionals expand access to high-quality abortion care.

For health professionals

For advocates and decisionmakers

Training
resources

For humanitarian settings

Abortion VCAT resources

For researchers and program implementors