Doctors’ duty to provide abortion information

Abstract

Abstract With abortion remaining legal in over half of the country and a proliferation of websites offering information on how to access abortion medications, for those who know where to look, there are sound options for safely ending an unwanted early-stage pregnancy. But not all patients have equal access to reliable information. This Article addresses the urgent downstream harms caused by the lack of access to abortion information, and argues that in view of these consequences, regardless of abortion’s legal status, clinicians have a duty to provide their patients with abortion information. We begin by documenting clinicians’ hesitation to share abortion information, drawing on our interviews with 25 doctors practicing medicine in a state where abortion is criminalized. Next, we explain why clinicians are duty-bound to provide all-options counseling. We then consider whether such duties shift where abortion is criminalized. After identifying the limited legal risks associated with supplying abortion information, and showing how, by requiring all-options counseling, professional societies might reduce risks to patients and clinicians, we conclude that, regardless of the legal status of abortion, clinicians have a professional responsibility to share basic abortion information – including treatment options and how to access those options.