UCSF Faculty Research Influences Women's Health Law
Governor Jerry Brown
In carrying forward the mission of health equity and quality for all, Diana Taylor, RN, PhD, professor emerita of the UCSF School of Nursing, and her co-principle investigator Tracy Weitz, PhD, MPA, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Services at UCSF, conducted the foundational clinical and health policy research regarding the safety and quality of aspiration abortions performed by nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and physician assistants with special training.
Earlier this month, Governor Brown signed into law California AB154 enabling these providers to perform the procedure during the first trimester of pregnancy. The state law is designed to broaden access to abortion in areas where few, if any, doctors perform abortions and reaffirms California's leadership on women's health issues.
Both Taylor and Weitz are researchers for the Bixby Center for Reproductive Health at UCSF, which was formed in 1999 to address the health, social, and economic consequences of sex and reproduction through research and training in contraception, family planning, and STIs. The Bixby Center strives to develop preventive solutions to the most pressing domestic and international reproductive health problems.