It is time to integrate abortion into primary care.

Abstract

The Roe v Wade decision made safe abortion available but did not change the reality that more than 1 million women face an unwanted pregnancy every year. Forty years after Roe v Wade, the procedure is not accessible to many US women. The politics of abortion have led to a plethora of laws that create enormous barriers to abortion access, particularly for young, rural, and low-income women. Family medicine physicians and advanced practice clinicians are qualified to provide abortion care. To realize the promise of Roe v Wade, first-trimester abortion must be integrated into primary care and public health professionals and advocates must work to remove barriers to the provision of abortion within primary care settings.