Health-care workforce implications of the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization decision

Authors

Claire D. Brindis, Philip R Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: claire.brindis@ucsf.edu.
Melissa H. Laitner, National Academy of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
Ellen Wright Clayton, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Susan C. Scrimshaw, Scrimshaw Consulting, Thornton, NH, USA.
Barbara J. Grosz, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Lisa A. Simpson, AcademyHealth, Washington, DC, USA.
Sara Rosenbaum, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Corale L. Brierley, Brierley Consultancy, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA.
Melissa A. Simon, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Yvette Roubideaux, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
Bruce N. Calonge, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
Paula A. Johnson, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA.
Laura DeStefano, National Academy of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
Ashley Bear, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
Kavita S. Arora, General Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Midwifery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Victor J. Dzau, National Academy of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

5-21-2024

Journal

Lancet (London, England)

DOI

10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00581-6

Abstract

The Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court decision, which revoked the constitutional right to abortion in the USA, has impacted the national medical workforce. Impacts vary across states, but providers in states with restrictive abortion laws now must contend with evolving legal and ethical challenges that have the potential to affect workforce safety, mental health, education, and training opportunities, in addition to having serious impacts on patient health and far-reaching societal consequences. Moreover, Dobbs has consequences on almost every facet of the medical workforce, including on physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and others who work within the health-care system. Comprehensive research is urgently needed to understand the wide-ranging implications of Dobbs on the medical workforce, including legal, ethical, clinical, and psychological dimensions, to inform evidence-based policies and standards of care in abortion-restrictive settings. Lessons from the USA might also have global relevance for countries facing similar restrictions on reproductive care.

APA Citation

Brindis, Claire D.; Laitner, Melissa H.; Clayton, Ellen Wright; Scrimshaw, Susan C.; Grosz, Barbara J.; Simpson, Lisa A.; Rosenbaum, Sara; Brierley, Corale L.; Simon, Melissa A.; Roubideaux, Yvette; Calonge, Bruce N.; Johnson, Paula A.; DeStefano, Laura; Bear, Ashley; Arora, Kavita S.; and Dzau, Victor J., "Health-care workforce implications of the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization decision" (2024). GW Authored Works. Paper 4901.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/4901

Department

Health Policy and Management