OB-GYN fears abortion ban will widen health care gap for women, especially in rural Iowa

SOUTHEAST, Iowa — Iowa is facing a rural health care crisis, with hospitals on the brink of closing and doctors leaving in droves.

Health care providers who specialize in women’s health fear the nearly six-week ban on abortion will discourage gynecologists from practicing in the state, further widening the gap in women’s health care.

Currently, 33 counties in Iowa are considered maternity deserts, with a shortage of midwives and birth centers.

In southeastern Iowa, these include Keokuk, Jefferson, Van Buren, Davis and Appanoose counties.

“We keep talking about pregnancy in young women, but if there’s no gynecologist, it’s going to impact women as they get older,” said Dr. Francesca Turner, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Des Moines. “For cervical cancer, uterine cancer, breast cancer. I mean, these are things they can’t travel to, they have mobility issues, they don’t have transportation, and when you consider that Iowa has one of the highest cancer rates in the country, it’s going to impact the care of women throughout their lives.”

Dr. Turner is also concerned about the immediate risks that strict abortion bans pose.

“States with the most restrictive abortion bans have a 75 percent increase in peripartum homicide. That means women are 75 percent more likely to die during pregnancy or a year after giving birth with these abortion restrictions,” Dr. Turner explained. “This is not something we want for the women of Iowa.”

Dr Turner added that research shows these restrictions are associated with a 16% increase in infant mortality.

This is particularly concerning for Iowa, where infant mortality rose 30% in 2022, while the national average rose just 3%.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst urges Iowans with questions about family planning under the new law to visit freedomiowa.com

Konfrst emphasized: “Women in this state are not alone, because we will take care of each other and help women get the care they need. That shouldn’t be the case, but that’s what we will do together as advocates, because women deserve care.”