In a recent survey conducted by the nonprofit organization KFF, a majority of OB-GYNs expressed their concerns about the Dobbs ruling by the Supreme Court, stating that it has had a detrimental impact on maternal healthcare, resulting in increased pregnancy-related mortality.
The survey, released by KFF on Wednesday, revealed that 64 percent of OB-GYNs surveyed believed that the decision made in June 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has worsened pregnancy-related mortality. Additionally, 68 percent of respondents agreed that the ruling has negatively affected their ability to provide adequate care during pregnancy-related emergencies.
Last year, the Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case effectively ended the constitutional right to an abortion and granted states the authority to establish their own policies regarding the procedure. Consequently, over a dozen states have implemented strict abortion bans or laws restricting access based on gestational limits.
This concerning trend emerges as pregnancy-related deaths have been on the rise in the United States since 2019, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this year. The CDC’s report revealed that the maternal mortality rate in 2021 stood at 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The survey also highlighted that half of OB-GYNs practicing in states with abortion bans reported having patients who were unable to access the care they sought. Nationally, four in ten OB-GYNs claimed that their autonomy in decision-making had been negatively impacted since the Supreme Court ruling.
Following the Dobbs decision, the survey indicated that one in five office-based OB-GYNs now offer abortion services. Among OB-GYNs in states where abortion is legal, this figure increases to nearly 30 percent, while 10 percent of OB-GYNs in states with gestational limits continue to provide such care.
On a national scale, 20 percent of office-based OB-GYNs expressed feeling constrained in providing care for miscarriages and other pregnancy-related emergencies. This number significantly rises to 40 percent among OB-GYNs practicing in states where abortion is prohibited.
Moreover, the survey revealed that 14 percent of OB-GYNs nationally offer in-person medication abortions, while 5 percent provide medication abortions through telehealth. Additionally, over half of the respondents reported an increase in patients seeking contraception, including long-term or permanent methods like sterilization, IUDs, and implants, since the Dobbs decision.
Furthermore, 70 percent of OB-GYNs believe that the landmark ruling has exacerbated racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health. Existing racial disparities in maternal healthcare are already attributed to issues such as limited access to quality healthcare and racial biases in the healthcare system. The CDC reports that Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues compared to white women.
Conducted from March 17 to May 18, the survey gathered responses from 569 OB-GYNs and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
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