Healthcare providers have seen an increase in the number of pregnant patients suffering serious medical complications due to delayed care in the two years since Roe v. Wade. Wade was overruled, according to for a new report from House Democrats.
But at the same time, obstetrics and gynecology residents in states with abortion restrictions are receiving less training to perform abortions.
The report was released Thursday night by Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is the culmination of an investigation launched in September 2023.
It was based on interviews with committee staff conducted with obstetrician and gynecologist educators and residents from 20 programs to learn how the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization impacted the study and practice of obstetrics and gynecology.
“What we discovered was deeply disturbing. Dobbs’ decision has created chaos and confusion for obstetricians and gynecologists and their patients,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (DN.J.), the committee’s ranking member, said in a statement.
The report also found that abortion training for residents of states that restrict or ban the procedure has been virtually eliminated in some cases, even though certain skills are the same as those required to treat pregnancy complications.
In other cases, training was limited to simulations and manuals rather than observing an abortion firsthand, forcing residents to travel out of state to learn the skills needed to perform it. This, in turn, puts pressure on program capacity and resources in states where abortion is protected, the report concluded.
Before the Dobbs ruling, residency programs often partnered with abortion clinics to provide training if state laws prohibited its teaching. But in many states where abortion is prohibited, these clinics have been forced to close.
“I fear that over time, the vast differences in training between OB-GYNs in protective and restrictive states will effectively create two different groups of OB-GYNs with entirely different sets of training, knowledge and ways of caring for their patients,” Pallone said. .
Residency program leaders who participated in the report universally agreed that abortion care is an integral part of other components of reproductive health care and cannot be eliminated or isolated from residency training.
“It should go without saying that it should not be necessary to navigate a legal minefield to provide obstetricians and gynecologists with critical knowledge and training,” Stella Dantas, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), said in a statement. ACOG was not involved in writing the report.
“Residency program directors must be able to focus their energy on preparing the gynecologists of tomorrow with the skills necessary to embark on successful careers in an incredibly complex and rewarding field, rather than navigating the legal complexities that could expose them, their interns and their programs. to significant risks”, added Dantas.
Residents and residency directors in restrictive states interviewed in the report recalled harrowing situations in which patients experience serious complications but cannot receive the care they need to prevent additional complications from developing.
A restrictive status residency program director described a case in which a pregnant patient was transferred to the emergency room with an infection and no fetal heartbeat. But as the abortion could not have been performed sooner, the patient developed sepsis and died.
Another director noted that “very complex cases” are often “returned” from clinic to clinic due to poorly written laws banning abortions, because doctors are afraid of being sued and losing their license.
The report also highlighted other consequences of abortion bans, including fewer applicants for obstetrics and gynecology residency programs in states that restrict abortions, and also the departure of practicing obstetricians and gynecologists.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
