Why We Should Stop Using the Term “Elective Abortion”
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15745006 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katie Watson (0000-0003-3609-4048, Northwestern University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | E1175-1180 |
| Publication date | 2018-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The AMA Journal of Ethic (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2376-6980 • E-ISSN: 2376-6980 |
| Publisher | American Medical Association (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1001/amajethics.2018.1175 |
| PMID | 30585581 |
| OpenAlex | W2906816623 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 6 |
In abortion care, the term "elective" is often used as a moral judgment that determines which patients are entitled to care. Secular health care organizations that attempt to avoid controversy by allowing "therapeutic" but not "elective" abortions are using medical terminology to reinforce regressive social norms concerning motherhood and women's sexuality because what distinguishes pregnant women with medical indications for abortion is that they originally wanted to become mothers or, in cases of rape, that they did not consent to sex. Secular health care organizations should stop denying the moral agency of patients and physicians who conclude abortion is morally acceptable and should only use the word elective when billing codes require it. Regardless of reason, the proper label for all abortion is health care
Abortion · Agency (philosophy · Family medicine · Health care · Political science · Pregnancy · Sociology · Terminology · Global Maternal and Child Health · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Contraception · Reproductive Health and Technologies
Maternal Indications
Conscientious refusal, abortion, and the professional standard of care
More Necessary than Medical
The Politics of Problem Definition
Social-Psychological Dynamics of Greek Women’s Attitudes to Abortion
From “Bad” and “Good” Motivations to Abort to “Bad” and “Good” Women
The ‘Institutional Lottery’
Abortion vs. Sexual Assault
Health risks and outcomes that disproportionately affect women during the Covid-19 pandemic
Declines in Unintended Pregnancy in the United States, 2008–2011
The Comparative Safety of Legal Induced Abortion and Childbirth in the United States
Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014
Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions
Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions
Population Group Abortion Rates and Lifetime Incidence of Abortion
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,29 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2025 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |