Alaska judge strikes down law saying only doctors can provide abortions

A state judge in Alaska struck down a law prohibiting anyone other than a licensed physician from performing abortions. 

Superior Court Judge Josie Garton ruled Wednesday the law imposed a substantial burden on patients’ fundamental privacy rights to make reproductive health decisions. 

The Alaska Supreme Court previously found the right to privacy in the state’s constitution also applies to abortion rights. 

Garton said advanced practice clinicians (APCs) such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants are qualified to provide abortion care and treat any complications that may arise.  

The decision stems from a 2019 lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood, which challenged the law that says only a doctor licensed by the State Medical Board can perform an abortion in Alaska. 

In 2021, Garton issued a preliminary injunction that stopped the state from enforcing part of the law, allowing APCs to provide medication abortions. 

“There is no medical reason why abortion is regulated more restrictively than any other reproductive care,” Garton said. 

Garton noted abortion is time-sensitive, and the few abortion clinics in the state don’t employ any full-time physicians, only on a per diem basis as needed. Alaska is a largely rural state that is also facing a shortage of licensed doctors. APCs deliver most of the services provided by Planned Parenthood, which lets the organization keep costs down 

“When APCs are barred from providing abortion, there are fewer available providers, fewer appointments, and potential for greater delay. Given the time-sensitivity of accessing abortion care and the way the service is delivered state-wide through three health centers many patients must travel significant distances to reach a health center,” Garton said in her ruling. 

Since the initial injunction, medication abortion has been available every day that advanced practice clinicians have been in Planned Parenthood clinics, the lawsuit stated.