A question and answer from a friend in medicine:
Q: Who works with difficult pregnancies — moms who want to to take to term and deliver?
A: Maternal fetal docs.
The observation follows this report in the Washington Post about the difficulty states such as Arkansas are already encountering in recruiting doctors to work in states with no-excuse abortion bans and punishment on the line for doctors who might place a patient’s health above the unfeeling cruelty of the Arkansas legislature.
One large medical recruiting firm said it recently had 20 obstetrician-gynecologists turn down positions in red states because of abortion laws. The reluctance extends beyond those interested in providing abortion care, as laws meant to protect a fetus could open doctors up to new liabilities or limit their ability to practice.
… One large health-care staffing firm, AMN Healthcare, said clients in states with abortion bans are having greater trouble filling vacancies because some prospective OB/GYN candidates won’t even consider opportunities in states with new or pending abortion bans.
… Three candidates turned down one of the firm’s recruiters, who was working to fill a single job in maternal fetal medicine in Texas, he said: “All three expressed fear they could be fined or lose their license for doing their jobs.”
In another example, a physician contacted by phone by an AMN Healthcare recruiter trying to fill a post in an antiabortion state “simply said, ‘Roe versus Wade,’ and hung up,” Florence said.
Also, some doctors currently in states like Arkansas might consider leaving. And the impact of harder recruiting will be felt most at smaller, rural hospitals. The Arkansas legislature claims to worry about their viability, if not the viability of pregnant women.
As yet, no recruiter reports finding a doctor anxious to move to a red state like Arkansas, which has the most absolute ban in the country. Maybe if we told them our income tax rate is REALLY low. It’s all about the Benjamins, right?
