Supporting OB-GYNs in Abortion-Restrictive States: A Playbook for Institutions

( JAMA . 2024;332(8):613–614. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.10270) The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has thrown abortion legislation throughout the nation into disarray, with each state imposing its own unique laws. In states with near-total abortion bans, obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) are now faced with decisions between legal ramifications and providing patients with the accepted standards of care. Many OB-GYNs have left states with such bans due to stress associated with these weighty decisions, which has reduced the availability of women’s health care in some areas of the nation and may impact morbidity and mortality. This article is an opinion piece focusing on the personal and professional effects of state abortion bans on OB-GYNs as of March 2023, focusing on institutional support and recommendations to both support and retain OB-GYNs.