Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42813138›Full record

ArticleO&G open2026

Effects of Abortion Bans on the Physician Workforce.

Emily Newton-Hoe, Sophia Landay, Subasri Narasimhan, Anitra Beasley, Sara Neill

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in O&G open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Emily Newton-HoeDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, School of Law, Los Angeles, California; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Sophia LandayDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, School of Law, Los Angeles, California; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Subasri NarasimhanDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, School of Law, Los Angeles, California; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Anitra BeasleyDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, School of Law, Los Angeles, California; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Sara NeillDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, School of Law, Los Angeles, California; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine physicians' experiences providing early pregnancy care under abortion bans and perspectives on how these bans affect the reproductive health workforce.

methodsFrom May 2024 to May 2026, we conducted semistructured interviews with obstetrician-gynecologists, family medicine physicians, and emergency medicine physicians practicing in states with total or near-total abortion bans. Participants were recruited with purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with an inductive thematic approach.

resultsFifty-five physicians from 14 states participated, including 25 obstetrician-gynecologists, 21 emergency medicine physicians, and 9 family medicine physicians. Abortion bans introduced uncertainty that reshaped the boundaries of clinical decision making and narrowed the services physicians felt able to provide, leading to increased referral to specialists for care previously managed by nonspecialists. Participants described tensions between professional obligations and personal well-being, as well as disruptions to core professional values, including commitments to patient autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. Perceived effects on the training pipeline included loss of expertise, barriers to physician and trainee recruitment, and diminished preparedness for independent practice among trainees in abortion-ban states. Professional burnout emerged as both a consequence of these changes and a factor shaping professional decision making.

conclusionPhysicians across multiple specialties involved in early pregnancy care reported that abortion bans affected scope of practice, physician training, recruitment and retention, and workforce participation. These findings suggest that abortion bans may affect not only abortion provision but also the broader reproductive health care workforce and access to early pregnancy care.

Identifiers

PMID42813138
PMCPMC13623280

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.