Abortion Providers And Clinics Struggle With Moral, Ethical Choices

North Carolina Health News: After The Fall Of Roe, Physicians Confronted Their Toughest Year Working In Reproductive Health Care 
Even for those who have been practicing for years, like OB-GYN Amy Bryant, it’s unquestionable that the past year has been the most challenging and exhausting time to be in the reproductive health care field. ... “When I think back to the early days after the Dobbs decision after Roe v. Wade was overturned, I just really think about the chaos and the uncertainty and the difficulties that we confronted, like, almost instantaneously with this new law of the land,” Bryant said. “It was truly just kind of scary.” (Crumpler, 6/23)

AP: Why Some Doctors Stay In US States With Restrictive Abortion Laws And Others Leave
Dr. Kylie Cooper chokes up thinking about the patients she left behind in Idaho. One who often comes to mind is Kayla Smith. Smith said she chose to end a desperately wanted pregnancy last year after discovering her fetus had potentially deadly heart defects and other problems. But Idaho banned nearly all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, so Smith had to go to Washington state. Cooper felt “deeply saddened” she couldn’t care for her the way she normally would have. And this is one of the reasons Cooper, a maternal-fetal specialist, moved in April to Minnesota, which has broad abortion rights. (Ungar, 6/23)

ABC News: Termination Boards: How Physicians Are Providing Abortions Within Exceptions Allowed By Bans
Physicians in several states told ABC News that facilities are using termination boards or medical ethics boards to navigate whether they can provide patients with medically necessary abortions in line with exceptions allowed in their states. Dr. Nicole Teal, a maternal fetal medicine specialist, told ABC News that abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy in the hospital where she works in North Carolina require two physicians to sign off in cases where the mother's life is at risk. In most cases, both physicians are specialists. In July, North Carolina will start enforcing a ban that prohibits abortions past 12 weeks of pregnancy, with an up to 20-week exception for rape or incest and 24 weeks for fatal fetal anomalies. (El-Bawab, 6/23)

KFF Health News: Malpractice Lawsuits Over Denied Abortion Care May Be On The Horizon
A year after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, many physicians and hospitals in the states that have restricted abortion reportedly are refusing to end the pregnancies of women facing health-threatening complications out of fear they might face criminal prosecution or loss of their medical license. Some experts predict those providers could soon face a new legal threat: medical malpractice lawsuits alleging they harmed patients by failing to provide timely, necessary abortion care. (Meyer, 6/23)

How clinics are faring —

The New York Times: Dozens Of Clinics Have Closed Or Halted Abortions Since The Supreme Court’s Decision To Overturn Roe V. Wade
In the year since Roe fell, 20 states enacted laws banning or restricting abortion, forcing a rapid shift in the country’s patchwork of abortion access. Clinic owners scrambled to adjust, canceling appointments and helping patients travel elsewhere. Some clinics relocated, while others stayed open to provide the services they still could. Many simply closed, leaving behind empty buildings. In Milwaukee, this former clinic is for sale for $1 million. The real estate agent says he’s had a hard time finding buyers. (McCann and Walker, 6/23)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Abortion Providers See A Post-Roe Influx Of Patients From Other States
That's created a bottleneck as patients stream into Minnesota for a limited number of appointments, increasing wait times for the procedure. (Bierschbach, 6/22)

The Texas Tribune: A Year After Roe V. Wade’s Overturn, Texas Sees Post-Abortion Reality
Dr. Alan Braid first started performing abortions in Texas shortly after Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. Over the last 50 years, he built two clinics, raised a family and merged the two after his daughter, Andrea Gallegos, came in to help run Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio and Tulsa. Together, this multigenerational Texas family business weathered protesters and lawsuits and ever-increasing restrictions from the Legislature. But on June 24, 2022, that all came to an end. Immediately, the clinic stopped performing abortions. A few weeks later, they closed their doors for good. And one year later, Braid has moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Gallegos is preparing to move her family to Carbondale, Illinois, each to run one of the two new Alamo clinics. (Klibanoff, 6/23)

The Boston Globe: One Year After Roe V. Wade Was Overturned, N.H. Abortion Providers Say They Feel The Effects 
Saturday marks one year since the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, striking down Roe v. Wade. Abortion providers in New Hampshire say they’ve been feeling the effect of the decision, from more people coming from out of state for abortion care to more protests outside of the Equality Health Center in Concord. And, on the eve of the anniversary, the state’s two Democratic US Senators say they’re going to keep pushing to ensure people have access to reproductive health care. (Gokee, 6/22)

Politico: Inside An Abortion Clinic That Fled A Red State
When you drive up to the Red River Women’s Clinic, you’ll see John Gaffrey on the street corner, perched in between two signs depicting aborted fetuses, his arms draping over the large pieces of cardboard like a scarecrow. Then there’s Bonnie Spies, who sways back and forth holding her rosary, murmuring prayers. Nick is so quiet, you wouldn’t know a loud yell could come out of him. Until you hear his booming voice carry over the lot as a patient walks through the clinic’s front door. “We’re here to help!” yells Nick, who’s reluctant to give his last name. (Ward, 6/23)