Are nurses forced to assist abortions?

Nurses Activism

Published

Hello,

I'm looking into a career as an RN and I am just curious - Are nurses forced to assist abortions? I've heard recently of several nurses being forced to assist or they lose their job. Is this the case with most hospitals?

I've asked on other sites and apparently it's a dumb question, sorry.

Thanks for your help.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

The topic of this thread...Are nurses forced to assist abortions?

The answer is no.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In my facility there were concerns over this, the facility pushed for this initially but I think with many of the staff siting religious beliefs they let it drop.

I am a Christian and do not believe in abortion. As a healthcare professional I think abortion is an abomination however a necessity in some cases. I don't believe the hospital should not be able to force something on a person that conflicts with their religious or personal beliefs.

Abortion is and has always been a "hot button" and a case could be legally made that is IS part of a nurses job since it falls under a legal procedure in the healthcare industry.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If not having an abortion could lead to the death of the mother, then obviously there would be more to consider because the death of both could result if some form of action does not take place. I don't favor the child over the mother at all. I just looked up how many medically necessary abortions are reported to the CDC each year and the needed to not needed abortion ratio speaks for itself. Im glad I got into this discussion because it enlightened me on what people consider to be providing health care. And I am so glad we do not have to, by law , provide the service if it goes against personal beliefs. Question, do nursing programs require their students to be involved in one, even to the point of observation?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

I never saw a nurse forced to participate in an abortion. However, I've had to assist in many barbaric procedures on patients. These folks are dying but the nursing home won't take them back without a feeding tube so they come to endo for their feeding tube insertions.

And there's many more egregious procedures done every day to patients who have no one to protect them from the medical-industrial complex. Life is not as simple and no one cares about your belief system. It's just that - a belief. Beliefs can come from ignorance, irrationality or from practitioners who actually have to make these day to day decisions and actually do their intellectual very best to do the right thing for the patient. Forcing an 11 year to have a baby is unethical. (That was my youngest C-section but there are many other children having their children). Rigidity is never a reasonable response to an ethical dilemma. It's just closing your eyes, your brain and sticking you head in the sand.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I still dont know what the answer is, lol. I'm sure the industry is not all unicorns and rainbows, but I wanted to know if programs require us to do anything that is to do with abortions. Why I ask is that if they dont, then I can decide for myself depending on specialty and level of education what i will and wont do. If there are situations where in order to save a life, hard decisions have to be made, then okay. But that is not what I was asking.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

BTW, you can't be opposed to abortion because you are Christian. All faiths have sects that don't believe in the mainstream teaching of the church. I'm sure there are atheists opposed to abortion - perhaps on grounds of legal rights...I don't know. But just because you are one religion or another doesn't entitle you to distort an entire religion's perspective on an issue. Abortion is the only procedure that I'm aware of that offers federal protection for you. However, regardless of what field of nursing you end up in, you will go home days feeling like you've participated in something morally squishy, and you DON"T get to pick and choose which ones you're not going to do. That's all I'm saying.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

it isnt because of religion that i feel what i do at all. i have always been opposed since before being Christian. And you assumed I was because I never mentioned my religion, just that it goes against my beliefs, which don't have to be religious at all lol. I am still waiting for the answer to my question on school programs. I will make choices of other situations as they are presented to me. If you do not have an answer, then please, move on.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

I'm sorry . My bad. Didn't make it clear that I was replying to Billythekind.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
it isnt because of religion that i feel what i do at all. i have always been opposed since before being Christian. And you assumed I was because I never mentioned my religion, just that it goes against my beliefs, which don't have to be religious at all lol. I am still waiting for the answer to my question on school programs. I will make choices of other situations as they are presented to me. If you do not have an answer, then please, move on.
School programs will not force you to participate in abortions either.
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

I agree with Subee and the others, there are way more morally objectionable duties I participate in on a regular basis to focus on abortion. The law legally protects a nurse from participating in abortion, but there is no law to protect us from performing CPR on the 98 yr old with COPD and bone Ca whose great niece who hasn't seen her in 12 years insists we "do everything we can", there is no law to protect us when we have to care for the drunk driver who just hit a family with three kids and two of the kids are in the next room, their parents and baby sister dead. We work with people, and not all of them are kind, moral, responsible people, but we care for them, that's what we do.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

RN Cardiac- I have no problem caring for people in that regard RN Cardiac, :). That could easily fall under my beliefs. I am not one to advocate justification through revenge at all. The value of life of a drunk driver is just as important as the victims of his or her actions. Definitely, I will respect peoples DNRs and all that that comes in the line of duty. Im just not for elective abortions is all. I love my neighbor point, blank, period.

Esme 12, thank you for answering my questions :)

Sube- My apologies, I hope I didn't come off rude replying to what I thought was directed towards me :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Your naive if you thing that decisions aren't made every day or wars started because of religion. Catholics restrict birth control and abortion, perhaps I shouldn't have said "christian" and instead had been more specific to a certain religion. Most of the "Christians" I know are against it and think that it's against the laws of nature or something like that. I agree that this is an issue that is in a grey area that can't be one or the other. We're in a decaying country that uses religion or lack their of for political purposes or just to get 15 minutes of fame. Religion is a guide, a guide for you to take or leave certain things. Legally? Hmmmmm, I spoke to a friend who is a lawyer, he says no, you can't be forced to do that. That being said we also live in a society where that could put you on a "non conforming" list in your facility. I have seen that MANY times.

Bottom line, ignore all the religion and legal crap that we all talk about, do what you can live with.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment