Self-Managed Abortion and the Role of the Nurse Practitioner

<h2>Abstract</h2> After the Dobbs decision removing the legal right to abortion under the United States Constitution and allowing states to regulate abortion laws independently, there was a documented increase in the proportion of people choosing to self-manage their abortions. Increasingly medications, which may include mifepristone and/or misoprostol, are used. Nurse practitioners in settings including, but not limited to, sexual and reproductive health, family medicine, and emergency medicine, are likely to encounter patients who are considering self-managed abortion or are coming in after self-managing. Knowledge of medication abortion regimens and expected effects and warning signs is important for triaging patient concerns. Familiarity with legal and ethical considerations, as well as state and federal laws surrounding self-managed abortion, is also important to avoid criminalization of patients and clinicians.