What is it about?
Abortion is common and safe in the UK - 1 in 3 women will have one or more abortions in their lifetime. Nurses have a major role in caring for those having an abortion: this article shares how we do this and brings together the evidence-based information needed to do so.
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Why is it important?
A number of women in the UK have been prosecuted recently for having abortions outside of the Abortion Act, 1967 (the law that says when you are allowed to have an abortion - as long as two doctors agree). A new law is now in progress (2025) that means women will no longer be prosecuted for this. However, across the globe, anti-abortion movements are rising and succeeding in restricting access to abortion; misinformation is spreading. Evidence suggests that women prefer care to be delivered by nurses and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) calls for their role to be maximised. Given that abortion care is often not included in nursing training and most happen outside of the National Health Service, not all nurses have access to this knowledge or clinical area. Abortion care is thus a dynamic area in the UK and one worth exploring in nursing literature.
Perspectives
This article was prompted by personal experiences and reflections. I have nursed those having safe abortions in UK clinics and through voluntary work, I have worked to support those who are restricted in their home countries, to access the same. Nurses are a female-dominant profession, many of us are likely to have had and/or will go on to have abortions - I hope that through this article, readers can learn about person-centred, evidence-based abortion care, open a dialogue, critically examine the care we provide and have a greater voice in abortion care.
Karolina Trych
King's College London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Let's talk about abortion: a person‑centred approach to care, British Journal of Nursing, October 2025, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/bjon.2025.0047.
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