Abortion

Privacy-related issues concerning abortion are complex, due in part to the amount of information about fetal development that prenatal monitoring devices make available to both patients and medical providers. Laws dictating the use of prenatal monitoring devices have led to concerns about privacy and fetal surveillance. Historically, patients, regardless of the nature of their visits to a medical provider, gained autonomy for medical decisions through informed consent laws, which give patients the right to information about the risks and benefits of medical interventions or procedures. However, in the case of abortion in the United States, such autonomy has been affected by states enacting laws restricting abortions to certain stages of pregnancy. This entry focuses on prenatal monitoring and abortion regulations, including their impact on patient ...