KFF examines the implications of Dobbs-era abortion bans and restrictions on miscarriage or stillbirth
In a brand new temporary, KFF examines how abortion bans and restrictions within the wake of the Supreme Court docket's 2022 Dobbs choice may additional complicate being pregnant loss.
Being pregnant loss, together with miscarriage and stillbirth, is widespread, and for many individuals it’s a bodily, mentally and emotionally taxing expertise. The medical interventions used to handle miscarriages and stillbirths are sometimes the identical drugs and procedures utilized in abortions, which means abortion bans and restrictions can in the end restrict being pregnant loss care.
Moreover, the specter of criminalization and penalties for medical doctors who carry out abortions in states the place bans exist may have a chilling impact on medical care. 4 in 10 obstetricians who observe in states with abortion bans report that remedy for miscarriages and pregnancy-related emergencies has gotten worse for the reason that Dobbs ruling.
Whereas all state abortion bans have exceptions for circumstances of risk to the lifetime of the pregnant particular person, they don’t bear in mind the wide selection of circumstances that folks might face in the event that they expertise a being pregnant loss. In the meantime, the rising variety of documented circumstances of individuals experiencing pregnancy-related emergencies who’re denied care highlights what abortion restrictions can imply for the administration of being pregnant loss.