Informed Consent

• Understanding Informed Consent
• Legal & Ethical Healthcare
• Forced Abortion
• What Abortion Clinics Should Tell You
• Red Flags
• More Red Flags
• Standing Up For You
• Contact Us

Understanding Informed Consent

Pregnancy is a stressful time. It is an important time to understand your rights and your options.

During pregnancy, you have the right to know and to direct what’s going to happen to your body and how it’s going to affect you. Informed Consent laws protect your right to be fully informed before from having an invasive medical procedure, such as abortion.

Informed Consent has two parts. The first part is when medical personnel inform patients about a medical procedure or treatment. The second is when the patient gains understanding and gives, or refuses, consent to have treatment.¹

Healthcare providers have a responsibility to communicate all possible short and long-term side-effects of each option.² Your provider should give you time to explore which treatment options are most consistent with your values, beliefs, and needs. If you feel these issues are not being addressed, you have every right to leave the clinic and go where your voice is heard and you get the quality of care you want and deserve.

For example, Network Medical’s caring staff take the time to carefully listen to your hopes, concerns, and goals, and answer questions about pregnancy options that meet your needs. We take time to go over the facts of abortion methods, risks, side effects, and possible complications in a way that is meaningful to you. Your privacy and information are kept confidential, and your choices are respected.

In the State of California, forced abortion is illegal. It is important to understand your legal rights, so you can decide what’s right for you. Laws are changing rapidly.

It is against the law in all 50 states for anyone to coerce or force you to have an abortion. Anyone who tries to end your pregnancy without your consent could be subject to criminal or civil liability.³

If you have questions, are unsure, are feeling pressured or misled into an abortion, or having second thoughts about abortion, consider speaking with Network Medical staff and/or an attorney. Our staff and medical professionals would be happy to inform you about current abortion laws in California and discuss your pregnancy options. Please note that Network Medical staff do not provide legal advice.

What an Abortion Clinic should tell you about Abortion⁴

At a minimum, an abortion clinic / provider should tell you this information:

• The abortion procedure steps.
• How invasive the abortion procedure is.
• How long abortion recovery takes.
• If a caregiver is needed following the abortion procedure.
• The psychological, emotional, and physical risks.
• The medical risks – for example, the U.S. FDA has one of the abortion pill drugs in a risk management program. ⁵
• The possible abortion complications.
• Other abortion options that are available.
• The reason(s) for the procedure – Informed Consent means you know what you’ll get from the procedure.
• Expectations of what will happen short and long term after an abortion. You may hope life will go back to the way it was before the pregnancy, but that may not be realistic. An abortion provider should not make you unrealistic promises that no one can keep.

Before undergoing a medical procedure there should be a chance to get accurate facts about the procedure from the doctor performing the surgery or prescribing medicine.

Conflict of interest is when a person’s own interests could compromise his or her judgment, decisions, or actions.⁶

If someone’s best interest possibly conflicts with your best interest, this could prevent them from being completely honest with you or doing what is best for them, but not what is bet you. For example, they may not tell you all the risks or complications, because you may not want to choose what they are providing.

So, in the situation of a pregnancy, if a doctor makes more money from your choice to abort, than if you choose another option (like parenting or adoption), it is important to consider if you will you get good advice and complete information, or if that advice be skewed towards abortion.

Some abortion providers have a strong focus is on them getting money and getting paid. They may require some of your private information up front including income and number of dependents.

Some questions to ask:

• Is there a conflict of interest for the abortion provider?
• Do the providers get paid per abortion?
• Do they get paid less if you choose an alternative to abortion? (like parenting or adoption) Why?

Here are some mor red flag warning signs to consider related to your legal rights, respect for you, and risks, among other issues. If these occur, you should consider talking with someone else about it – like another medical professional or an attorney.

• Do you feel respected?
• Are your fears, concerns, or questions dismissed?
• Do you feel rushed – to decide or to get through the process quickly?
• Are the staff impatient or irritated?
• Is there a consent form? Does anyone take time to explain it carefully? Do they pressure you to sign paperwork before you read or think about what it says?
• Do the staff automatically assume you want an abortion?
• Do the staff minimize risks, or claim there are no risks, or that it will not hurt?
• Does the abortion provider require an abortion appointment BEFORE doing an ultrasound? Why?
• Do they avoid letting you see your ultrasound, or telling you about fetal heartbeat, age, or development?

For example, as of this writing, many patients at Network Medical have shared that when they called the local Planned Parenthood to make an appointment for an ultrasound, they were told they must schedule their abortion first, to have an ultrasound. This puts the pregnancy decision making steps out of order.

The correct order of pregnancy decision making is:

1. Pregnancy test – to confirm pregnancy.
2. Ultrasound – to establish two important factors, which help determine if abortion is a viable option, which abortion procedure you might qualify for, and what other options are available for your situation.
   1. pregnancy viability – one in five ends naturally, therefore a positive pregnancy test by itself is not conclusive.
   2. gestational age – how far along you are in the pregnancy.
3. Review the facts and your pregnancy options – including getting your questions answered and your concerns addressed.
4. Make your informed decision about what to do.
5. Schedule an abortion or other option, such as parenting or adoption.

Apparently, Informed Consent and following the correct sequence falls by the wayside at some abortion clinics. You should not be forced to schedule an abortion before being informed about all the facts of your current pregnancy and all your options.

For example, an abortion may not be needed or may not occur. A woman may not need an abortion if she has already started to miscarry, which often is revealed with an ultrasound. Or a woman may have some health issues where a typical abortion procedure would create problems.

Plus, for the woman (and possibly the man involved) requiring an abortion appointment first, could create increased anxiety and could unnecessarily cost money because the person is not feeling sure about what they want to do yet.

We encourage you to stand up for your choice wherever you decide to go. Ask yourself these simple questions – these principles will help ensure your rights:

• Have you been provided with adequate information?
• Do you fully understand all your options?
• Are you able to make an uncoerced decision based on that information?

Network Medical stands up for you, with you. We take Informed Consent seriously and offers uncoerced, accurate, and professional medical information, all at no cost to you.  We inform. You decide.