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The New York Times published a fascinating report this week on obstetricians “disappearing” from the ruby-red state of Idaho, as part of “a wave of obstetricians fleeing restrictive abortion laws and a hostile state legislature.” The article focused initially on one physician facing an uncertain future, especially as some of her local colleagues moved to nearby blue states.
The consequences are significant for families in the Gem State, though, as the Times’ report explained: “Idaho’s obstetrics exodus is not happening in isolation.”
Across the country, in red states like Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, obstetricians — including highly skilled doctors who specialize in handling complex and risky pregnancies — are leaving their practices. Some newly minted doctors are avoiding states like Idaho. The departures may result in new maternity care deserts, or areas that lack any maternity care.
Dr. Stella Dantas, the president-elect of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told the Times, “This isn’t an issue about abortion. This is an issue about access to comprehensive obstetric and gynecologic care. When you restrict access to care that is based in science, that everybody should have access to — that has a ripple effect.”
I have no doubt that this assessment is accurate, though the doctor’s reference to a ripple effect reminded me that the discussion is not limited to obstetrics.
Last year, for example, after Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade, there were multiple reports about students rethinking their higher ed plans: Schools in red states were suddenly less appealing than comparable universities in states where far-right culture wars were not raging.
Around the same time, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio said he’d spoken to college presidents who were dealing with students “having second thoughts” about attending schools in a state with far-right laws on abortion and guns.
The New York Times ran a report last year noting that in the corporate world, a post-Roe landscape threatened to “reshape the lines of economic competition between conservative and liberal states.” Culture war fights, the article noted, not only affected individuals, they also risked making states “less hospitable for business recruitment.”
Around the same time, The Wall Street Journal highlighted a New York City startup with 60 employees, which considered relocating to Miami. The CEO found that employees loved the warm Floridian weather, but she ultimately stuck with New York — and Florida’s politics contributed to the decision.
If we widen the aperture a bit, reproductive rights isn’t the only consideration. The Tampa Bay Times reported a couple of months ago, for example, that Republican policies are pushing some professors to leave Florida, while discouraging other scholars from taking positions in state universities. One professor at Florida State University told members of the Florida college system’s Board of Governors that academic candidates were turning down positions at the school “because of the perceived anti-higher education atmosphere in the state.”
This is not to say that red states will immediately feel the impact of sweeping changes, but if local officials are indifferent to constituencies — from students to physicians, scholars to business leaders — feeling apprehension about Republican governance, they’re probably making a mistake.