Post-Roe Emergency Medicine: Policy, clinical, training, and individual implications for emergency clinicians

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Margaret E. Samuels-Kalow, Harvard University; Pooja Agrawal, Yale University; Giovanni Rodriguez, Harvard University; Amy Josephine Zeidan, Emory University; Jennifer S. Love, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Derek Monette, Harvard University; Michelle Lin, Stanford University; Richelle J. Cooper, University of California, Los Angeles; Tracy E. Madsen, Brown University; Valerie Dobiesz, Harvard University
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-11-03
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2022 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14609
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Academic Emergency Medicine
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 12
• Start Page: 1414
• End Page: 1421
• Grant/Funding Information: no funding received for this work.
• Keywords: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization; Roe v. Wade; abortion access
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, General; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, removing almost 50 years of precedent, and enabling the imposition of a wide range of state-level restrictions on abortion access. Historical data from the United States and internationally demonstrate that the removal of safe abortion options will increase complications and the health risks to pregnant patients. Because the emergency department is a critical access point for reproductive healthcare, emergency clinicians must be prepared for the policy, clinical, educational, and legal implications of this change. The goal of this paper, therefore, is to describe the impact of the reversal of Roe v. Wade on health equity and reproductive justice, the provision of emergency care education and training, and the specific legal and reproductive consequences for emergency clinicians. Finally, we conclude with specific recommended policy and advocacy responses for emergency medicine clinicians.