This week on The Situation Womb, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, Erin Stevens, and Dr. Chris Ford open with a look back at Olivia Rodrigo’s star-studded “Daisy Chain Fields” benefit concert that helped raise over $20 million for reproductive health organizations.

A new study out of Indiana showing that the state’s near-total abortion ban is making ER doctors more hesitant to independently treat pregnant patients. Dr Ford, an ER physician, walks through a new study out of Indianapolis examining how the ban in Indiana is reshaping behavior inside emergency departments. Not because the law explicitly tells doctors what they can't do, but because the resulting legal uncertainty is enough on its own to change clinical decision-making. The study found that ER physicians are now more hesitant to independently manage pregnant patients who present with vaginal bleeding, and are instead more likely to defer that care to OB-GYN specialists. These are physicians who are often already overextended and, in many parts of the state, simply not available in time.

The conversation then shifts to a disturbing case involving a Navy civilian engineer, Elsie Dominguez, whose lawsuit over being raped by a ship’s captain was dismissed as a workers’ comp/labor dispute issue. Sorry, but being raped isn’t “part of the job” for service members.

On a more hopeful note, the hosts cover Missouri’s new law finally allowing pregnant women to get divorced without delay and name the four remaining states (Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, and Mississippi) where that right still doesn’t exist. They also unpack a complicated Texas surrogacy custody case involving a fetal diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, intended parents who considered termination, a surrogate who fled to Texas with help from an anti-abortion group, and how the case is being used to fuel calls to restrict or ban surrogacy and IVF. Kristin shares a personal story about pregnancy loss to underscore why these deeply individual medical decisions can’t be legislated in black and white.

Finally, the hosts discuss efforts by anti-abortion groups to challenge and potentially invalidate a Virginia constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom before voters even get the chance to weigh in this November.

LINKS

Rolling Stone: Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Festival Raises $10 Million for Women and Girls Nonprofits
Rolling Stone: Melinda French Gates Doubles Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Donation to $20 Million
The Hill: States sue Trump administration over family planning grant changes
Dept. of Justice: Challenges illegal Trump administration conditions on funding for reproductive health care, cancer screenings
Roll Call: Cassidy says abortion pill makers turn blind eye to safety
Mirror Indy: Indiana’s abortion ban has a ‘chilling effect’ on ER pregnancy care
Stars and Stripes: Lawsuit over sexual assault aboard Navy transport ship dismissed as worker’s comp issue
KCTV: New Missouri law allowing pregnant women to get divorced may cause custody dispute complications
PBS News Hour: Custody fight over baby born via surrogate sparks fear of fertility treatment restrictions
Virginia Mercury: If Va.’s reproductive rights amendment passes, challengers say they’ll fight to overturn it in court

FOLLOW THE DOCS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Dr Kristin Lyerly (@drkristinlyerly)
Dr Erin Stevens (@erinstevensmdobgyn)
Dr Chris Ford (@doc_4ord)

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