From September 26, 2022 post.
Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) led a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Director of White House Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein to express concerns about the negative impact of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on access to women’s and reproductive healthcare in states like Iowa that are considering bans on abortion. The Members expressed concern that restrictions on reproductive healthcare will further deter and decrease the availability of healthcare providers, particularly in rural areas that already lack access to care.
Rep. Axne was joined by eight of her colleagues in writing this letter. Together, the group represents several of the U.S. states that are weighing or have already implemented restrictions on abortion and other reproductive healthcare services.
The letter shines light on the threat that abortion restrictions pose to the already dire state of reproductive healthcare and the workforce delivering this care in these states.
With many counties in Iowa and in the other states represented in this letter already qualifying as a maternity care desert, meaning there are no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) and no certified nurse midwives, the impact of an abortion restriction can be catastrophic.
For example, the letter cites a study from Texas that indicates that the state’s past legislative efforts to restrict abortion access, namely a ban on abortions after detection of embryonic or fetal cardiac activity, doubled the risk of health issues for pregnant patients.
“In midst of the long-standing maternal mortality crisis in the U.S., which causes American women to die at rates higher than any other developed nation, these restrictions are life-threatening and will profoundly impact the reproductive healthcare workforce that is already overburdened and understaffed,” the members continued. “The reproductive healthcare workforce, which includes obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs), nurses, midwives, doulas, and other professionals, delivers a wide range of services, from preventive care such as Pap smears and STI testing to direct maternal and infant care. Despite their essential service, these providers are in serious short supply.”
As the letter points out, prospective and practicing physicians are expressing concerns over losing their medical licenses and facing legal repercussions for delivering care in states that have criminalized abortion services, making it even more difficult to attract new talent to the profession. In fact, one medical recruitment firm reported that 20 OB-GYNs turned down a position in a state that restricted abortion and that many others won’t even consider roles in such states.
To address these concerns, this coalition of Representatives asks Secretary Becerra and Director Klein to respond to six questions regarding the future of reproductive health care in the U.S., specifically in states where abortion bans are likely to be implemented.
The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Alma Adams (NC-12), Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Kathy Manning (NC-06), and Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01).
Original source can be found here
