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A new study by a collaborative group of researchers shows how near-total abortion bans can reshape how physicians make clinical decisions, sometimes delaying or limiting care for pregnant patients facing serious medical complications. The study draws on interviews with 32 physicians practicing in Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
The physicians represented emergency medicine, maternal-fetal medicine, obstetrics, oncology, and reproductive endocrinology. Participants described uncertainty about what care was legally allowed, as well as new requirements to seek additional consultations, legal review, or institutional approval before providing treatment. While these steps were often intended to reduce legal risk, physicians said they could delay urgently needed care.
The research team included recent CUNY SPH doctoral grad Lauren Shiman, PhD student Catherine Freeland, and Professor Diana Romero, with Columbia University Professor Emerita Wendy Chavkin. The study resulted from a collaboration with Global Doctors for Choice, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, the University of Michigan Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.
The researchers identified three major themes: loss of professional independence, provision of compromised care, and efforts to uphold professional integrity. Participants reported having to delay standard treatment, provide care they viewed as below accepted medical standards, or transfer patients elsewhere without being able to fully support continuity of care. Some also described leaving their states, engaging in advocacy, or finding ways to preserve comprehensive counseling and medically appropriate treatment.
“This research captures the difficult, often unseen decisions physicians are making as they navigate both medical needs and changing legal requirements,” says Dr. Shiman. “Their experiences show how these pressures are reshaping everyday clinical practice across several specialties.”
