Doc Warrants

Doctors are increasingly unwilling to work in states where providing health care is viewed as a crime. “An Idaho hospital will stop labor and delivery services, citing doctor shortages and the ‘political climate,’ the hospital announced Friday. ‘Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult.'” Idaho hospital to stop labor and delivery services. This is on top of a trend that was happening before the wave of abortion laws. “In 2020, 47% of rural community hospitals did not provide obstetric services, with 89 obstetric units closing between 2015 and 2019. Seven million women reside in counties with limited or no access to maternity care, impacting half a million newborns annually.” Less staff, longer delays and fewer options: Rural America confronts a health care crisis.

+ There’s a quiet new crisis brewing in Texas following the abortion ban. It could get much worse. Slate: “You Know What? I’m Not Doing This Anymore.”

+ Need a doctor? The commute is getting longer. Small planes and secrecy: Pilots fly people to Kansas and other states for abortions. (Folks, it’s 2023.)