A new CORE brief presents evidence that the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision may worsen access to obstetricians-gynecologists (ob-gyns) in Wisconsin and nationwide. A related one-page snapshot summarizes the evidence.
The brief outlines:
- Why access to obstetric providers matters
- The impact of Dobbs on the current ob-gyn and other physician workforce
- The impact of Dobbs on the future workforce
Among the key points:
- Eleven of Wisconsin’s 72 counties (15%) are maternity care deserts without birthing facilities or care providers. Poor access to providers can delay the start of prenatal care, increase travel time to obtain care, and harm the birthing person and their baby.
- With more hospitals closing birthing services in Wisconsin, pregnant people in rural communities face unique challenges getting care.
- Access to maternity care is critically important for people of color — and in particular, Black people — due to Wisconsin’s pregnancy and birth equity crises.
- In soon-to-be-published CORE research, ob-gyns expressed concern that Wisconsin’s abortion-related laws and healthcare landscape make it harder to recruit, train, and keep ob-gyn doctors in the state. Many ob-gyns also reported that Wisconsin’s landscape makes it difficult to care for patients and practice medicine.
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Studies have shown that in the post-Dobbs world, as many as half of newly trained ob-gyns do not want to practice in a state with abortion restrictions, such as Wisconsin.
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Many future ob-gyns don’t want to get trained in restrictive states, either. Wisconsin witnessed an 8% drop in applications for ob-gyn residency training programs in 2023, followed by a 10% drop in 2024.
- Maternity care deserts and extreme inequities in pregnancy and infant health for Black people in our state may worsen if Wisconsin loses pregnancy healthcare providers.