CRUCIAL QUOTE
“I had a woman who… has six children and a desired pregnancy and is like, ‘I’m trying to take care of my other six kids. And I have this, like, dead baby in my uterus. Can someone finally take care of me? I’ve been bounced around,’” an emergency medicine doctor told researchers. “We tend to be able to provide that care, but I see that we’re like the third or fourth place that people are coming to.”
Read more Judge Kills Trump’s Voter Database Plan—Says Administration ‘Trampled’ On Americans’ Privacy
Key background
The study interviewed 40 doctors in obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine and emergency medicine from nine states with abortion bans: Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Across the board, doctors said they’re being required to seek additional lab testing and institutional approval for some medical procedures even when performing emergent, life-saving interventions. Physicians in at least one state said a formal panel of doctors is required to convene and collectively decide which patients qualify to receive an abortion. In another case, a mother with severe heart failure at 21 weeks had to get letters from cardiology and legal counsel before doctors would perform a cesarean birth, according to the study. One doctor said they performed an abortion-like procedure for a patient with a molar pregnancy—from which no viable baby can be born—while “wondering if I was going to be in jail in a couple months for doing it.”
BIG NUMBER
13. That’s how many states have total abortion bans, according to the study: Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, South Dakota, North Dakota, Louisiana and Arkansas. 41 impose gestational limits.
Read more Court Kills Trump DOJ’s Subpoenas Against Minnesota Officials—Ruling They’re Meant ‘To Harass’
TANGENT
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research last week released a report estimating the average economic cost of abortion restrictions will be $140 billion this year—$7 billion more than what was estimated last year.
Read more Clive Davis’s Biggest Acts: Springsteen, Houston, Manilow
further reading
ForbesSupreme Court Temporarily Restores Access To Abortion Pills By MailBy Zachary FolkForbesRepublicans Are Souring On Medication Abortions, New Data ShowsBy Mary Whitfill RoeloffsForbesCompanies Face Increasing Talent Shortage In States With Abortion BansBy Michelle Travis