Media release

From: The Lancet

The Lancet and The Lancet Psychiatry: Removal of constitutional abortion rights has created complex ethical and legal challenges for patients and providers in the USA 

Ahead of the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision to revoke the constitutional right to abortion in the USA, three expert Viewpoints from leading US health and medical institutions explore the ethical and legal implications of restricted access to abortion for patients and healthcare providers, calling for more research to build a better understanding of both the short-term and long-term implications of the ruling.  

In two Viewpoints published in The Lancet, the authors detail the far-reaching consequences of Dobbs on almost every facet of the medical workforce, including physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. Providers 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, restrictions on abortion care have serious economic and equity impacts on patient health and society. The authors say rigorous research into the implications of restricted access to abortion care and the ongoing uncertainty related to access to contraception and in-vitro fertilization is urgently needed to inform policy and prioritize the health and dignity of patients and providers. The authors emphasize that Dobbs and its after-effects have relevance not only across all states in the USA but globally as other countries may face similar restrictions on reproductive care. 

A Viewpoint published in The Lancet Psychiatry focuses on how abortion bans not only constrain patient autonomy but also restrict physicians’ ability to practice evidence-based medicine, which negatively impacts psychiatric care. The authors call for practicing psychiatrists to better understand their legal, clinical, and ethical responsibilities within the current legal landscape in the USA. Psychiatrists will likely encounter new situations in patient care, such as potentially being called upon to determine if an abortion is medically necessary based on psychiatric grounds. Providers will also need to be prepared to treat patients who may need psychiatric care because of abortion bans, a reality that the authors say the system is currently unprepared to handle.