Since the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, 17 U.S. states have functionally banned abortion, creating clinical and ethical challenges for physicians practicing in these jurisdictions. In this presentation, Dr. Buchbinder will present findings from her qualitative research with obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) providing care in states with abortion bans. Findings reveal pervasive impacts of state abortion bans on OB-GYNs—including moral distress, conflicts with clinical colleagues, health and wellbeing consequences, and reduced job satisfaction—with implications for physician health, workforce sustainability, and patient outcomes. Institutional practices to support and protect OB-GYNs in restrictive policy environments may help to mitigate the impacts of abortion bans on physicians’ wellbeing.
Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:
Understand how abortion laws and policies are impacting the ability to provide comprehensive reproductive health care.
Describe ethical challenges that abortion bans raise for physicians.
Identify tangible solutions for supporting and improving professional wellbeing among clinicians engaged in reproductive healthcare.
Speaker
Mara Buchbinder, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Social Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as core faculty in the University of North Carolina Center for Bioethics. Dr. Buchbinder is a medical anthropologist with broad interests in cultures of health, illness, and medicine in the United States. Her recent work focuses on how patients, families, and healthcare providers navigate social and ethical challenges resulting from changes in medical technology, law, and health policy.
Event start time: 12:00 pm
Event end time: 01:00 pm