MAKING REFERRALS
Referrals begin by providing information to people if they need services beyond what you can provide in your health center, within legal constraints. It is valuable to regularly vet referral resources for quality control (e.g., making “mystery shopper” calls to referral sites). Unfortunately, few clinicians facilitate referral for abortion beyond verbally naming a health center (Homaifar 2017), and people often need more support, especially when navigating legal bans. Care coordination is important in such settings to ensure that people receive needed services. Taking a more active role in referrals can minimize misinformation and assist with complex social or health circumstances (Zurek 2015). In a southern US publicly funded family planning system, Black clients were found to be less likely to receive information about abortion and more likely to leave the health center with an unmet need for abortion referral (Nobel 2022).
Conscientious refusals should be limited as they constitute an imposition of religious or moral beliefs on patients, negatively affect a person’s health, are based on misinformation, or reinforce racial or socioeconomic inequalities (ACOG 2007).
Essential steps to assist the referral process:
- Scheduling an appointment
- Ensuring accessible facilities, equipment, and practices for people with disabilities
- Helping access support services such as funding (e.g., abortionfunds.org), travel support (e.g, brigidalliance.org), doula or accompaniment (e.g. Doula Network), childcare, insurance coverage, or interpreter services
- Following up on the person’s satisfaction and outcomes with the care received
Additional referrals may include:
- A pregnancy options talk line for people who are ambivalent or need more support before or after an abortion (e.g., All Options Talkline)
- Prenatal care or adoption facilitators
- Intimate partner violence specialists
- Human trafficking specialists
- Referral for a judicial bypass for a minor
- Sexual abuse care
- Mental health services
- Substance use services
- Post-abortion counseling referrals
- Social support services
- Accessible health center options for those needing more accommodations than are timely available at your health center
Additional Resources
- Pregnancy Referrals Toolkit (Provide)
- National Network of Abortion Funds
- ReproLegalHelpline.org: assistance and referrals for judicial bypass.