Editorial: US abortion restrictions are causing widespread harm

In an editorial published in BMJ, CUNY SPH Senior Associate Dean Terry McGovern and Ph.D. student and adjunct professor Ira Memaj, along with Northeastern University’s Samantha Garbers, shed light on the devastating consequences of restrictive abortion laws across the U.S.

The authors say the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that removed constitutional protection for abortion has not reduced the number of abortions in the country; in fact, that number in 2023 was the highest in a decade.

Instead, the ruling has resulted in increased maternal mortality; intimate partner violence and homicide; increased anxiety, chronic pain, pre-eclampsia, and postpartum hemorrhage; higher odds of poverty and unemployment; and increased rates of children entering foster care.

“We need investment in programs and policies that prioritize the lives and health of women and children, not repressive policies that benefit no one, cause serious harm to many, and fail their stated aim to reduce abortion,” the authors write.