Another Consequence of Overturning Roe: Imperiling Progress on Clinical Research in Pregnancy

In recent years, tremendous progress has been made toward recognizing the need for improved medical knowledge for pregnant people, a population group that has long been excluded from clinical trials and suffered the harms that result from a poor evidence base to inform care (Lyerly, Little, and Faden 2008). From the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), federal agencies have signaled strong support for closing knowledge gaps in pregnancy, in part through advancing responsible inclusion of pregnant individuals in clinical research (e.g., FDA 2018; PRGLAC 2018). As evidence of progress, a new National Academies report on improving representation in clinical trials emphasizes that a more equitable research enterprise would be responsive to the clinical needs of pregnant people (NASEM 2022).