(Aashish Kiphayet / Middle East Images via AFP and Getty Images) |
By Shoshanna Ehrlich | In the wake of the Dobbs decision, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) issued a press release pinpointing with prescient accuracy that it would “trigger nothing short of a public health crisis, exacerbate existing health disparities, and further endanger already marginalized populations most.” The U.S. was now in “clear violation of international law and globally recognized health and human rights standards.”
In the years following Roe‘s overturn, PHR has issued state-specific research briefs on the harms of abortion bans. It has also worked to “empower clinicians and advocates to speak out against the human rights violations occurring under these draconian laws.”
On Sept. 30, PHR issued a groundbreaking research brief, “Cascading Harms: How Abortion Bans Lead to Discriminatory Care Across Medical Specialties.” Based on in-depth interviews with 33 physicians from varying health specialties across the country, the study found that abortion bans “have hindered the ability of providers in diverse medical fields to follow evidence-based practices and standards of care, creating a pervasive chilling effect that results in substandard care and discriminatory treatment for reproductive-age women and pregnant patients.”
Ms. recently had the opportunity to sit down with PHR medical director Michele Heisler, MD, MPA, and director of research, legal and advocacy Payal Shah, JD, to discuss how abortion bans create hindrances in healthcare beyond the reproductive space.
Readers of Ms. are likely familiar with the terrible quandaries faced by abortion providers in ban states, as described by public-health scholars Liza Felix, Asha Sobel and Alina Salganicoff, “who now face the increased possibility of criminal charges in a legally ambiguous and dynamic environment.” The law, they write, “fails to consider the nuances of pregnancy and the ramifications of these restrictions both within and beyond the context of abortion.” (Click here to read more) |
