Nursing and the Emergency Contraception Pill

Paper Summary:

Abortion is a deeply controversial subject. It drives a great many emotional responses which are founded in philosophical, political and practical dispositions on the subject. The paper suggests that one of the reasons for women seeking abortions are unwanted pregnancies and that addressing the matter of unwanted pregnancies is the best way to decrease the number of abortions. The paper then examines the question of whether or not it is the nurse's ethical responsibility to encourage the use of the emergency contraception pill as a way to prevent unwanted pregnancy. In addition, the paper considers such matters as the pill's proven effectiveness, the availability and presence of public knowledge on the subject and issues relating to cultural, ideological or political resistance.

From the Paper:

"Of course, it is fair to acknowledge that any number of factors prevent us from assuming that all of the women surveyed were either at risk of pregnancy, were desiring not to become pregnant or were not already using some form of contraception. However, the study does reinforce this finding with the notation that of U.K. women in the same age group arriving at hospitals for an abortion procedure, only 11% have used the emergency contraception method in the interest of avoiding the occurrence of an unwanted pregnancy. It is therefore suggested that quite indeed, for the nurse practitioner, there is some greater barrier to overcome beyond simply a lack of public awareness. Instead, it must also be considered that accessibility, affordability or simple convenience may all be factors in encouraging or preventing high risk women in taking this action."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Card, R. (2007). Conscientious Objection and Emergency Contraception. The American Journal of Bioethics, 7(6), 8-14.
• Lakha, F. & Glasier, A. (2006). Unintended pregnancy and use of emergency contraception among a large cohort of women attending for antenatal care or abortion in Scotland. Lancet, 368. 1782-1787.
• Larrson, M.; Aneblom, G.; Eurenius, K.; Westerling, R. & Tyden, T. (2006). Limited impact of an intervention regarding emergency contraceptive pills in Sweden--repeated surveys among abortion applicants. The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, 11(4), 270-276.

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