Abortion is healthcare: In what sense?

In the wake of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization, many nursing organizations asserted that “abortion is healthcare” and access to it must be protected. Such a phrase makes clear claims about the meanings of “health” and “care.” How one defines these terms gives decisive direction to how a nurse must practice regarding not just elective abortion but also myriad interventions that divide bioethicists, including gender affirmative care, cosmetic surgery, and euthanasia. We consider the issue of elective abortion to illustrate the nature of disputes about the scope and limits of professional nursing. We describe two competing intuitions about the nature of healthcare namely that healthcare is either for (a) health, objectively defined or (b) well-being, patient defined. We discuss how these intuitions lead to different understandings of the intelligibility of the phrase “abortion is healthcare” and the implications for ethical discourse within professional nursing. •Many nursing organizations assert that “abortion is healthcare.”•Such a phrase makes clear claims about the meanings of “health” and “care.”•Defining healthcare gives decisive direction to how a nurse must practice.•Healthcare is either for (a) bodily well-functioning, (b) well-being, (c) liberation.•Definitions of healthcare lead to different understandings of the scope of nursing.