A new CORE research brief provides evidence that, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the threat of an abortion ban in Wisconsin made it hard, if not impossible, for physicians to provide timely, comprehensive, evidence-based care to pregnant patients.
A one-page snapshot summarizes the details.
After the June 2022 Dobbs decision, physicians in Wisconsin stopped providing most abortion care for over a year. An 1849 state law was widely interpreted to criminalize abortion provision except in life-saving emergencies.
CORE researchers interviewed 21 obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns) from across Wisconsin. They found that, after Dobbs, confusion about the 1849 law led to substandard and delayed care for pregnant people, including those experiencing medical emergencies.
The 1849 law prevented doctors from providing standard care to patients with pregnancy complications.
Although the 1849 law allows abortions to “save the life of the mother,” physicians and hospitals lacked clarity on what that meant. How sick or close to death did patients need to be before an abortion would be considered legally acceptable? Due to different interpretations of the vague law, management of pregnancy-related complications varied widely across the state. This led to more patient transfers between hospitals, which can delay care and worsen health outcomes.
Patients facing complications were left to risk their health by either continuing their pregnancies or traveling out of state for an abortion.
Traveling for any pregnancy care, including abortion, is costly and hard to manage. These barriers were highest for people who already have trouble accessing healthcare. This includes young people, people of color, and those living on low incomes and in rural areas.
Dobbs and the 1849 Wisconsin state law put ob-gyns in an impossible position, compromising their professional autonomy and personal wellbeing.
Under the 1849 law, a doctor who provides an abortion can be charged with a felony. They can face jail time, hefty fines, and lose their medical license. Ob-gyns were deeply conflicted between providing the care their patients needed and safeguarding their own wellbeing and freedom.
View the full research brief and one-page snapshot.
Related:
- New CORE brief explores Dobbs decision’s impact on the ob-gyn workforce in Wisconsin
- Dane County Court affirms legal right to abortion in Wisconsin
- Two years after Dobbs, abortion is available in Wisconsin, but restrictions are fierce
- Impacts of abortion restrictions on individuals, families, and communities