Distinguishing between elective and therapeutic abortions undermines the moral agency of patients and disproportionately amplifies moral rather than medical dimensions of the procedure.

When patient autonomy became a closely held value in medical ethics in the 1960s and '70s, the physician’s conscience-based right to refuse to deliver a given service began to be contested.

Evidence-based techniques for responding to patients’ pain expressions and experiences during such procedures are known, even in the absence of a standard of care.

MLPs have been overlooked as a strategy to advance reproductive health and justice.

Mission statements offer limited benefit when patients do not have meaningful choices about where to seek care and can be misused.