Lots has changed in the United States’ political landscape since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion – but how have things changed on the ground for those providing abortions?
That’s the subject of a new report from Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care policy. Pallone commissioned a study last year on the effects of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision; after ten months of research, the final report from that study was released today.
“I began this investigation to take a hard look at the impact the Dobbs decision is having on reproductive health care providers and their patients across the country,” Pallone said in a statement. “What we found was deeply disturbing. The Dobbs decision has created chaos and confusion for OBGYNs and their patients.”
To conduct the study, Democratic staff on the Energy and Commerce Committee spoke to educators at 20 OBGYN residency programs around the country – some in states with severe abortion limits or bans, others in states with permissive laws – about how the Dobbs decision, and the new abortion restrictions that resulted from it, have impacted patient care, OBGYN attitudes, and more.
Overall, the study concluded that the decision has harmed both patients and OBGYNs themselves, who have to contend with rapidly changing state regulations; those practicing in states with more permissive laws are also facing an influx of patients from other states, which can present a burden on limited resources.
“OBGYN residents reported seeing sicker patients that suffered from greater complications due to delayed care,” Pallone wrote in the report’s introduction. “We also heard about concerning trends in limitations on training, strains on the resources of residency programs, and harm to the mental health and morale of OBGYN residents and providers.”
The report ultimately concludes that the best solution to the problems presented by Dobbs is to pass a federal law guaranteeing the right to abortion, something that Pallone and nearly all of his fellow Democrats want Congress to do via the Women’s Health Protection Act.
“When abortion access is cut off from half the country and under constant threat, providers are prohibited from learning and practicing comprehensive reproductive health care and millions of patients are deprived of access to lifesaving care,” the report states. “This is dangerous and untenable. Congressional action is required to remedy this grave injustice.”