Dear Colleagues:
 

Like many of you, we have been following the abortion legislation that passed the North Carolina General Assembly, and we respect the diversity of views and feelings people have about the legislation and the issue of abortion across our organization. As we learn from experts here at Duke and from national and state medical organizations who advise on these issues, we want to share some of the impacts of additional restrictions on abortion care on our patients, our students, team members and colleagues, and on Duke Health’s education, patient care and community health missions.  

Family planning and reproductive health services, including abortion, are evidence-based, essential health care. Any new restrictions on reproductive health care would prevent North Carolinians from accessing the full benefit of this care. 

Our patients should be able to make their own individualized health care decisions in consultation with their providers. Being able to offer the full spectrum of highest quality family planning services, including abortion services, is also a vital component of our educational mission to train physicians to deliver comprehensive care. As advised by national organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine, the American Nurses Association, the WorldHealth Organization and state organizations such as the North Carolina Medical Societyand the North Carolina Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, safe and reliable access to these services is a critical part of women’s health. We value our ability to provide this care safely, compassionately and equitably. 

Abortion care is necessary for the complex and highly sensitive health and emotional needs of people who are making childbearing decisions. Narrowing access to abortion access erodes health and emotional wellness. It will also exacerbate systemic inequities in society and the health care system that result in communities of color and people with low incomes struggling to access comprehensive reproductive health care, includingabortion. On nearly every measure, people in states that ban or restrict abortion haveworse maternal health outcomes, including mortality.

Duke Health will continue to advocate that people should be allowed to make intimate and complex decisions for their health based on evidence-based medicine with the guidance of their providers, their family and those they personally trust. 
 

Sincerely,

Your Duke Health Leadership

NC General Assembly Overrides Gov. Roy Cooper’s Veto of SB20 12-week Abortion Ban