title: What physicians need to know about the legal status of abortion in the United States.
abstract: Abortion is the most politically contested social issue in the United States, a debate that manifests itself in extensive regulation of abortion as a health care service. This study provides a brief history of the judicial acceptance of abortion regulation and an overview of the most common forms of abortion regulation affecting physicians in the United States. The article concludes with a discussion of pending threats to the legal right to abortion in the United States and recommended resources where physicians can find assistance to comply with existing laws.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94612, USA. weitzt@obgyn.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Tracy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Weitz
mesh_terms: D000029:Abortion, Legal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003242:Conscience; D005260:Female; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D008484:Medicaid; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000941:ethics; D010290:Parents; D011247:Pregnancy; D014481:United States