Study of 40 Doctors Reports Care Delays for Some Pregnancy Complications in Nine States with Abortion Bans

A study published June 22, 2026, found that total abortion bans in nine states are forcing doctors to delay or withhold standard pregnancy care for conditions including early pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy and pregnancies complicated by serious maternal illness.

@Forbes reported that the research, conducted by five researchers affiliated with top hospitals and universities, interviewed 40 doctors in obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine and emergency medicine. The states covered were Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

Doctors reported being required to seek additional lab testing and institutional approval even for emergent interventions. In at least one state a formal panel of doctors must convene to decide which patients qualify for an abortion. One case involved a mother with severe heart failure at 21 weeks gestation who needed letters from cardiology and legal counsel before a cesarean birth could proceed.

The study stated that treatment delays endanger patients, undermine patient autonomy and physician-patient trust, and shift physicians’ focus to legal risk mitigation. An emergency medicine doctor described treating a patient with six children who had been referred to multiple facilities for care of a nonviable pregnancy.

Pregnant women in states with total abortion bans are nearly twice as likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or the postpartum period, the study found.

Pregnant Black patients face more than three times the mortality risk compared with white counterparts. Thirteen states currently have total abortion bans, according to the study, and 41 states impose gestational limits on abortion.