It is well documented how strict abortion bans are negatively impacting standard prenatal care in red states. In Idaho, labor and delivery centers are closing, forcing pregnant women to travel longer distances to access care. At the same time, the state is facing challenges recruiting new OB-GYNs to care for pregnant patients. In Louisiana, standard pregnancy care has been disrupted in dramatic ways. For example, some pregnant patients are only being given the option of a cesarean section in emergencies so doctors can avoid the optics of performing an abortion.
But the effects of abortion bans post-Dobbs aren’t insulated to abortion ban states. They’ve caused a ripple effect and are affecting standard prenatal care in blue states. As experts watching the reproductive landscape change across America have told Salon before: “Any time there is a shift in access, it impacts the whole ecosystem.”
