Louisiana's pregnant patients face riskier procedures and delayed care, report says

Catch up quick: When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Louisiana had a trigger law that immediately banned abortion.

• Despite some initial legal challenges, that ban has been in place since that summer.
• Abortions have since been nonexistent.

The report describes a dangerous push-and-pull between doctors wanting to provide care while also trying to avoid criminal and legal trouble.

• That's translated into "increased use of medical procedures and treatments that do not meet the standard of care," the report says.
• In one example, doctors had a patient with a cardiac condition try multiple medications even as her risk for a heart attack increased before she was advised to have an abortion.

The bottom line: The report says Louisiana violates federal law ensuring access to emergency medical care, among other violations.

How they did it: Four organizations that support abortion access worked on the report, including Lift Louisiana, Physicians for Human Rights, Reproductive Health Impact and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

• Researchers worked between May and November 2023 to interview 43 clinicians and patients, and performed focus groups.

Go deeper:

• Three-quarters of Louisiana's rural hospitals don't offer labor and delivery services
• It's becoming more deadly to give birth in America