State laws banning or restricting abortions have not sparked a mass exodus of OB-GYNs, contrary to trends predicted by abortion-rights advocates following the overturning of Roe v. Wade federal abortion protections.
In fact, the number of OB-GYNs increased slightly more in anti-abortion states than in states with codified abortion rights protections, according to a new study published this week in JAMA Open Network.
The study observed more than 60,000 OB-GYNs across the country between January 2018 and September 2024, during which time the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022 opened the door for states to implement gestational age restrictions on abortions.
The study authors found that there were “no significant differences in trends in OBGYNs’ practice locations across states with different abortion-related policy environments after the Dobbs decision.”
From 2018 to 2024, the number of OB-GYNs increased by 8.3% in states with bans on elective abortion and by 10.5% in states with early gestation age limits on the procedure. The number of OB-GYNs only increased by 7.7% during the same period in states without anti-abortion statutes
Also, from the quarter immediately preceding the Dobbs decision until the close of the study in 2024, the percentage of OB-GYNs who remained in states with abortion bans or restrictions remained roughly the same as those who stayed in states that have not banned abortion.
The authors of the study noted that this was “opposite to the expected finding if OBGYNs were leaving states where abortion is threatened.”
Abortion-rights advocates have projected since the draft of the Dobbs decision being leaked in early 2022 that OB-GYNs would leave anti-abortion states, creating a dearth of maternal medical care.
Dr. Christiana Francis, head of the American Association for Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a video on social media that the study “debunks the narrative that OBGYNS are fleeing pro-life states.”
“Life-affirming healthcare is the best medical care possible for both women and their babies, and physicians know this. We are able to do our jobs and do them well in states that have laws protecting life,” Francis said.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, OB-GYN and head of the anti-abortion research organization the Charlotte Lozier Institute, also praised the study on social media.
“Most OB-GYNs entered the field because we love delivering babies,” Skop said on X. “Laws protecting unborn life shouldn’t chase us away.”
The study was not affiliated with CLI or any other anti-abortion organizations, with co-authors from the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Pittsburgh, and Stanford University, among others.
Caitlyn Myers, a co-author of the piece and Economics faculty at Middlebury College, reported in the conflicts of interest section of the paper that she received personal fees from several abortion-rights organizations, including Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Society of Family Planning.
The data itself do not suggest any reason why OB-GYNs have not moved as anticipated following Dobbs, but the authors suggest that relocation might be “offset by other forces, such as ties to patients and the significant effort and disruption associated with relocation.”
“Although the analyses presented here suggest that trends in the number of OBGYNs practicing in states with abortion bans do not meaningfully differ from trends in abortion-protecting states after the Dobbs decision, they do not speak to the evolution of other aspects of reproductive health care, including the quality of care being provided to patients, the moral distress felt by practitioners, and the quality of training being provided to OBGYN residents,” the authors noted.
TELEMEDICINE ABORTIONS ROSE IN 2024 AS LEGAL BATTLE LOOMS
Only about 20% of office-based OB-GYNs report providing elective abortion services, according to the healthcare policy think tank KFF.
In 2024, there were 1,038,100 abortions in states without total bans on the procedure, according to the abortion-rights Guttmacher Institute.
