High-risk pregnancy doctors publish new standards for care under state abortion bans

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine has published new guidelines to help physicians treating high-risk pregnancies in states with abortion bans navigate both legal exposure and patient safety. The statement encourages cross-state referral networks, agreements between hospital administrators and doctors on what state law permits, and training in termination procedures for emergencies.

The guidance responds to documented harm: research cited in the statement found that delaying treatment after early water breaking in Texas, following its 2021 abortion law, led to complications in 57% of cases versus 33% in states without such restrictions, with fetal survival at zero in all cases reviewed. Doctors quoted say hospitals often default to over-caution when the law is unclear, worsening outcomes for patients.

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, affiliated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, offers its own competing guidance and did not respond to a request for comment.

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