Though evidence may not sway some lawmakers’ decisions on abortion, the realities of reproductive health care are driving the decisions for medical school students in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.
For the second straight year, fewer students in MD-granting U.S. medical schools are applying for OB-GYN residencies in abortion-restricted states. Just as numerous states have sent a signal since the overturn of Roe v. Wade by enacting abortion bans and restrictions, future doctors are sending one in return: They do not want to work or live where these restrictions exist.
A recent national survey shows that nearly all medical students applying to OB-GYN residencies ranked programs in states with greater abortion access higher than programs in states with restrictions. Approximately three-fourths of this year’s survey respondents cited the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision as having influenced their residency application plans.
Now here we are in the summer of 2024. There’s a new, more transmissible variant of...
