Respond to the following on health insurance, healthcare and abortion…
States have been cutting insurance for women to access reproductive health services. This particularly affects low-income families with the overall lack of access to quality reproductive health care. The lack of proper health insurance for women impedes on their reproductive rights as they should be given an opportunity to make their own reproductive choices when it comes to the use of contraceptives and abortions.
This scenario is not different in the state of Florida. As of April 2017, the state only covers abortion under the Affordable Care Act if the woman in question has been raped, is in danger, or if it is an incest case. An abortion may so be performed from week 24 of the woman last menstrual period, but only if the woman’s life is endangered (Jones & Jerman, 2017). Looking at the state’s infant and maternal mortality rates, one can make the connection between bad policies and the consequences. 160 resident pregnancy-associated deaths were recorded in the state January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2015 (Jones & Jerman, 2017). With a pregnancy-related mortality ratio 16.9 per 100,000 live births, it is not hard to associate lack of good reproductive health policies as a major cause attributed to these rates. Of the deaths, approximately 31.6% were non-Hispanic Black women with Hispanic women accounting for 10.5%. It is illustrative of the lack of proper reproductive health insurance.
As an advanced practice nurse and nursing leader, it is the individual’s responsibility to advocate for changes in such policies to ensure better health outcomes for women. Essential VII: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes adequately prepares nurses to collaborate, communicate, and consult with other interprofessional groups in order to manage and coordinate care (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014). Women reproductive health is highly important and as a nurse, one is required to play a leading role to ensure better policies are put in place to insure women requiring reproductive health not only in the state of Florida but all over the country.
References
Jones, R. K., & Jerman, J. (2017). Abortion incidence and service availability in the United States, 2014. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 49(1), 17-27.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2014). The essentials of master’s education in nursing. March 21, 2011.