Medical school graduates are avoiding states with abortion bans. Experts warn it could cause chaos

[marmar]

(Salon) Abortion restrictions might be influencing where medical students apply for residency programs, which could have stark implications across entire state healthcare systems, with some doctors warning it could essentially unravel entirely.

According to a new analysis by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Research and Action Institute, updated data from 2023 found a continued decline in medical students applying to residency programs located in states with restrictive abortion laws. The trend aligned with a similar one that the research institute saw in the first year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“The biggest takeaway is that for a second year, we are seeing decreases in the number of applications in states where abortion bans are in place,” Kendal Orgera, a senior research analyst at AAMC told Salon in a phone interview. “And that varies by specialty — for OBGYNs in states where abortion is banned has decreased even more and this shows a big implication of the potential workforce of the future.”

As of May 2, 2024, abortions are nearly totally banned in 14 states across the country. Some, but not all, have narrow exceptions, such as preventing the death of the mother, when the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, or when there is a lethal fetal anomaly. While many of these states don’t make it technically illegal for a pregnant person to get an abortion, they do penalize providers, like OBGYNs or family medicine doctors, for conducting them. ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/05/14/school-graduates-are-avoiding-states-with-abortion-bans-experts-warn-it-could-cause-chaos/