Many OB-GYNs aren't getting abortion training, government report finds
OB-GYNs are seeing more pregnant patients with dangerous medical complications while at the same time receiving less training as residents about how to perform abortions, a new report found.
Obstetrician-gynecologists are seeing more pregnant patients with dangerous medical complications two-plus years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, while at the same time receiving less training as residents about how to perform abortions, according to a new report.
The findings, shared exclusively with NBC News, are the result of a monthslong investigation by Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. They’re based on conversations with leaders and educators from 20 OB-GYN residency programs conducted from February to June. Half of those programs are in states that restrict abortion access.
The report highlights several worrisome effects of abortion restrictions instituted after Roe v. Wade was overturned, including fewer applicants to OB-GYN residency programs in states that restrict abortion, practicing OB-GYNs moving out of these states and new doctors being left unprepared to treat pregnant patients in life-threatening scenarios.
“I don’t think people realize how dire the situation has become so quickly,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., of New Jersey, the committee’s ranking Democrat.
Several residency program directors interviewed for the report recalled dangerous, sometimes tragic, situations in states with abortion bans.
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