Potential Impact of Medication Abortion: Family medicine, a case study

Though abortion rates in the US have been steadily decreasing since 19891, studies indicate that one-third of all American women will have an abortion sometime during their lives.2 The pool of abortion providers in the US has been shrinking; the number of abortion providers in the US fell by 11% from 1996 to 2000, and 87% of US counties have no abortion provider.3 This means that 34% of women ages 15 – 44 lack local access to abortion. New technological developments in abortion care have the potential to greatly expand the pool of abortion providers. Mifepristone, the “abortion pill,” was approved for use in the US in 2000. Medication abortion using Mifepristone provides a safe and effective non-surgical abortion option for women in the early stages of their pregnancy. This method could, with proper training and logistical support, be integrated into primary care. Family physicians provide crucial primary care in the US – without them most of the country would become a federally designated health provider shortage area.4 This presentation will outline how integrating medication abortion into family medicine could eliminate the abortion provider shortage. The presentation will also summarize recent efforts to integrate abortion care into family medicine settings and barriers encountered in this process.

Citations not included due to space limitations.