When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, doctors providing obstetrics and gynecological care felt the decision’s effects immediately — especially in Missouri, the nation’s first state to implement a near-total ban on abortion.
“When abortion restrictions are present, it compromises maternal health, and it results in higher rates of maternal mortality — and we see significantly higher rates for people of color,” said Dr. David Eisenberg, an obstetrics and gynecology physician at Washington University. “I feel lucky that we are right here across the river from Illinois … where abortion care is protected as a part of routine health care.”
Another consequence of Missouri’s abortion ban is that fewer doctors are coming to Missouri to complete their OB-GYN residencies, Eisenberg and his colleague, Dr. Jeannie Kelly, told St. Louis on the Air.
“We definitely have seen the ramifications of this law impact who comes here for training,” said Kelly. “Applicants come in, telling us, ‘You are the only program we’ve applied to, in a state where abortion is banned, because we know that this is a facility that still abides by all of the training guidelines and provides training for that care in the state of Illinois when needed.’”
Since Missouri’s abortion ban was enacted, Eisenberg said that every prospective resident he’s interviewed has brought it up during the interview process.
“We are one of the top 10 OB-GYN residency training programs in the country,” he said. “Every year that I have been a faculty member, since 2009, we have seen an increasing number of applicants — until the fall of 2022, when we saw a 10% decrease.”
Earlier this year, the Association of American Medical Colleges found that states with near-total abortion bans saw a more than 10% decrease in OB-GYN residency applicants, compared to a 5% decrease in states with no abortion bans.
For more on how Missouri’s abortion law has affected obstetric and gynecological care, listen to this St. Louis on the Air episode on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production intern. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
