Current research indicates that 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unintended. An unintended pregnancy can translate into an unwanted or undesirable pregnancy, but this is not always the case. Nurses have consistently taken a pivotal role in supporting women needing to make decisions in areas of moral and ethical uncertainly. Triage nurses are in a unique situation in that they are representing the philosophy of the practice or clinic which employs them. Therefore, we encourage nurses in triage roles to discuss the official positions of their employers that may intersect with their own beliefs. It is our position that all obstetric care providers, as well as triage personnel, should familiarize themselves with their professional organization’s position and opinion statements on issues related to unintended pregnancies. In many cases, this is generally addressed in ethics statements. Some suggested resources are as follows:

American Academy of Family Physicians

American College of Nurse Midwives

American Nurses Associations

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

An excellent resource for nurse practitioners is the following article:

McMullen, P., & Philipsen, N. (2017). Conscious clauses and refusal to treat: Implications for nurse practitioners. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(2), 138-144.

Please note that this chapter only pertains to early first trimester unintended pregnancy situations. Unintended pregnancy diagnosed later than 12 weeks are beyond the scope of this book. Another important consideration for women in this situation is to keep the door open for a future plan for successful contraception and education about emergency contraception.