"They Go Hand in Hand": Perspectives on the Relationship Between the Core Values of Family Medicine and Abortion Provision Among Family Physicians Who Do Not Oppose Abortion
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Published on: February 16, 2011
Sarah Wulf1, Diana N Carvajal1, Na'amah Razon1
1From the Person-Centered Reproductive Health Program, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco CA (SW, CD); Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (DNC); Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA (NR); David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (CP); Training in Early Abortion for Comprehensive Healthcare (TEACH), University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (SM); Reproductive Health Access Project, New York, NY (LM); Aggregate, Seattle, WA (ABF); Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY (IS).
Introduction:
Most family physicians do not provide abortion care, despite an apparent alignment between the defined values of family medicine and provision of abortion in primary care. This study seeks to understand how family physicians themselves perceive the relationship between their specialty's values and abortion provision.
Methods:
We conducted in-depth interviews in 2019 with 56 family physicians who do not oppose abortion in the United States. We employed a deductive-inductive content analysis approach with memos to identify key themes. This analysis focuses on participants' beliefs in the core values of family medicine and how those values relate to abortion in family medicine.
Results:
Participants identified and described six values of the specialty they prioritized, which included relationships, care across the lifespan, whole-person care, nonjudgmental care, meeting community needs, and social justice. Family physicians in the study overwhelmingly believed that abortion aligned with family medicine values, regardless of whether they themselves provided abortion care.
Conclusions:
Providing abortion care in primary care settings gives family physicians an opportunity to provide comprehensive care while improving access to meet community needs. As abortion care becomes increasingly restricted in the United States, family physicians can manifest the values of family medicine through integrating abortion care into their practices in states where abortion remains legal.
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