A ProPublica analysis of CDC data found deaths from ectopic pregnancy nearly doubled, with almost 200 fatalities from 2020 to 2025 versus about 100 in the prior six years. Ectopic pregnancies, which typically occur in the first trimester when an embryo implants outside the uterus most commonly in a fallopian tube, usually can be treated so patients do not die, maternal health experts said. ProPublica found the increase nationwide but much steeper in states that enacted abortion bans after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and experts pointed to documented delays and provider hesitation in those states. Plaintiffs in Texas and Oklahoma lawsuits described being denied or delayed care; regulators in 2025 found Ascension Seton Williamson failed to properly screen a suspected ectopic and violated federal emergency-treatment requirements. Reporters and maternal health leaders, many unaware of the spike, said the rise persisted beyond pandemic-era hospital disruptions and warrants examination of how state abortion restrictions affect emergency care for ectopic pregnancies. The reporting has prompted legal action and regulatory scrutiny and raises specific questions about care protocols and provider decision making in states with criminal penalties for abortion.
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The Impact of Abortion Bans on the Physician Labor Market: Compositional and Pipeline Effects*
Ethan Bergmann†
August 28, 2026
[Most recent version here]
Abstract
I study the physician labor market after Dobbs, which allowed states to enforce abortion bans. I link quarterly obstetrician-gynecologist (OBGYN) locations to political contributions and use synthetic difference-in-differences to compare provider supply and migration between total-ban and abortion-protecting states. I find no aggregate supply decline. However, this stability masks compositional changes: relative per-capita supply falls for female, early-career, top-ranked, and Democratic-donating providers, while male and unranked supply increases. These shifts are more consistent with workforce entry and exit than migration by existing providers. Together, Dobbs polarized the U.S. OBGYN workforce, with implications for reproductive-care access and future supply.
JEL Codes: I11, I18, J44, J61
Keywords: abortion policy, physician labor markets, political sorting](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:te2ri7usmycg2c4vkpfonizq/bafkreie3mpcerlg45nopdxtqrynbtfpsdnqwecarlrwi6pm5f3y5s6a73i)
