More Pregnant People Are Relying on Early Prenatal Testing As States Toughen Abortion Laws

WASHINGTON — In Utah, more of Dr. Cara Heuser’s maternal-fetal medicine patients are requesting early ultrasounds, hoping to detect serious problems in time to choose whether to continue the pregnancy or have an abortion. In North Carolina, more obstetrics patients of Dr. Clayton Alfonso and his colleagues are relying on early genetic screenings that don’t provide a firm diagnosis. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The reason? New state abortion restrictions mean the clock is ticking. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, many health care providers say an increasing number of patients are deciding the fate of their pregnancies based on whatever information they can gather before state bans kick in. But early ultrasounds show far less about the condition of a fetus than later ones. And genetic screenings may be inaccurate. When you find out your fetus has a serious problem, “you’re in crisis mode,” said Sabrina Fletcher, a doula who has helped women in this predicament. “You’re not thinking about legal repercussions and (state) cutoff dates, and yet we’re forced to.” About half of states ban abortion or restrict it after a certain point in pregnancy. In Utah, it’s generally illegal after the 18-week mark; in North Carolina, after 12 weeks. This leaves millions of women in roughly 14 states with no option to get follow-up diagnostic tests in time to feasibly have an abortion there i...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news