The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the United States
English
By (author): and Medicine Board on Health Care Services Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice Committee on Reproductive Health Services: Assessing the Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the U.S. Engineering Health and Medicine Division National Academies of Sciences
Abortion is a legal medical procedure that has been provided to millions of American women. Since the Institute of Medicine first reviewed the health implications of national legalized abortion in 1975, there has been a plethora of related scientific research, including well-designed randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, and epidemiological studies examining abortion care. This research has focused on examining the relative safety of abortion methods and the appropriateness of methods for different clinical circumstances. With this growing body of research, earlier abortion methods have been refined, discontinued, and new approaches have been developed.
The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the United States offers a comprehensive review of the current state of the science related to the provision of safe, high-quality abortion services in the United States. This report considers 8 research questions and presents conclusions, including gaps in research.
Table of Contents- Front Matter
- Summary
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Safety and Quality of Current Abortion Methods
- 3 Essential Clinical Competencies for Abortion Providers
- 4 Long-Term Health Effects
- 5 Conclusions
- Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
- Appendix B: Acronyms and Glossary
- Appendix C: Public Meeting Agenda
- Appendix D: Literature Search Strategy