The Abortion Provider Toolkit
For advanced practice clinicians
The Abortion Provider Toolkit provides evidence for abortion care as a natural extension of the work of Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs)—including nurse practitioners (NPs), midwives, and physician associates (PAs)—who care for patients at risk for or experiencing an unintended pregnancy.
The Abortion Provider Toolkit seeks to support abortion care as a normal part of primary and reproductive health care.
This resource draws on a strong evidence base: the safety of abortion, the urgent need to expand the provider workforce, and the critical role that nurse practitioners, midwives, and physician associates play in delivering care. It is grounded not only in research, but in the practical realities clinicians face when providing abortion care.
Those realities are often shaped by structural barriers. Limited access to clinical training, the influence of professional and abortion politics, and the separation of abortion care from standard credentialing and regulatory pathways all complicate entry. These challenges are further intensified by wide variation in state laws and practice environments—conditions made even more complex in the post-Roe landscape.
In response, this Toolkit brings together pathways for building competence and connection. It highlights training and academic programs, points to key skill-building resources, and offers guidance on navigating the broader context of care. The Toolkit is also a resource for APCs as abortion care advocates, and it provides advocacy tools, language guidance, and legal resources.
Locations where advanced practice clinicians can provide different types of abortions
- Procedural and Medication
- Neither
- Medication Only
Who is the Toolkit For?
The Toolkit is intended to prepare clinicians, educators, administrators, collaborators, and advocates to play various roles in improving access to abortion care.
Clinicians
For clinicians in particular, the Toolkit is a professional development resource. NPs, midwives, and PAs—working in independent clinical practice, primary care, or reproductive health specialty areas—can use the Toolkit to create individual plans for advancing clinical practice in abortion care.
Administrators
Administrators who are responsible for human resources and clinical policies and procedures can use the Toolkit to further build supportive clinical environments, and can be especially influential when addressing barriers faced by Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs) as abortion providers.
Other Professionals
Other professionals who work alongside Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs)—including physicians, nurses, and clinic staff—can use the Toolkit to further their understanding of and advocacy for APCs providing abortion care.
Educators
Faculty and administrators within academic institutions and training programs that prepare health care professionals can use the Toolkit to ensure that comprehensive reproductive health care—including abortion care—is taught as an integral component of both gender-related health and primary care programs.
Learners
Learners can use the Toolkit to familiarize themselves with the roles of Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs) in abortion care, and to better understand barriers to providing care throughout the United States. This helps prepare them to advocate for expanded abortion care curricula to support their educational mission and practice to their full scope.
Representatives
Representatives from professional associations and regulatory boards who recognize the value of professional determination of scope of practice can use the Toolkit as they seek to further their understanding of abortion care and ensure that the health and safety of patients are protected.
Advocates
Advocates can use the Toolkit in their increasingly critical role helping to shape policy and working with clinicians and administrators to protect and expand access to reproductive health care.
What is the Abortion Provider Toolkit?
A professional guide...
The APC Abortion Provider Toolkit is modeled after the APC Toolkit (2009), and the AP Toolkit (2018), a collaboration of the Abortion Access Project (now Provide), Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health Care at UCSF, and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and is now housed at Clinicians in Abortion Care (CIAC), which is part of NAF. It is a professional guide for NPs, midwives, and PAs in the United States who are either currently providing or would like to offer abortion care. The information provided is based on definitions of U.S. professional disciplines, organizations, and legislative/regulatory systems, although some of the information, resources, and guidelines for professional advancement could be adapted to other health care systems. The Toolkit helps clinicians compile evidence to support the integration of abortion care as an essential part of patients’ health care services. It guides NPs, midwives, and PAs in their role as abortion providers or future providers. It includes essential information and statistics about abortion care and access, professional standards and competencies, and the roles of state and national professional organizations and state licensing boards.