How Abortion Bans Hinder Pregnancy Counseling
Conservatives, not fully satisfied with criminalizing abortion and pregnancy outcomes across the country, are now attempting to prevent pregnant people from accessing information about abortion care and seeking abortions outside of states where it is banned. In March, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador issued a legal opinion that said the state’s abortion ban prevented Idaho medical providers from referring a woman across state lines for abortion care or prescribing abortion pills to be picked up in another state. In response, providers in Idaho stopped giving out-of-state abortion referrals in fear of criminal prosecution or licensure penalties. Planned Parenthood sued, and in August, a federal judge enjoined Idaho from enforcing the legal opinion.
The continued legality of abortion referrals is crucial to helping pregnant people access abortion care and ensuring health-care providers can supply their patients with information. Abortion referrals are also sometimes a next step after pregnancy options counseling, where a clinician or counselor provides pregnant people with unbiased, nondirective information about parenting, pregnancy termination, or adoption.
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LeBleu added that unbiased, nondirective pregnancy options counseling is essential to ensuring reproductive justice.
“The ability of a person to receive accurate information and referrals about their pregnancy options supports their ability to exercise their rights to have a child or not have a child,” LeBleu said. “If you don’t have the information and you can’t find a trusted person to share that information with you, this probably won’t lead you to a place where you can actualize your autonomy over your body and what you want to do about your pregnancy.”