Obstetrician and Gynecologist Physicians' Practice Locations Before and After the Dobbs Decision

State abortion policies may influence the practice locations of obstetricians and gynecologists (OBGYNs), having potentially significant implications for access to and quality of reproductive health care.

To explore changes in OBGYN practice locations from before to after the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization US Supreme Court decision in June 2022.

National Plan & Provider Enumeration System data files were used in a descriptive cohort study assessing the association between state abortion policy environments and OBGYN practice locations in the US from January 1, 2018, to September 30, 2024, for all OBGYNs listed in the data files during the study period.

The number of OBGYNs practicing in states with differing abortion laws and the movement of OBGYNs between these states before and after the Dobbs decision.

The sample included 60 085 OBGYNs (59.7% women), of whom 3.8% were maternal-fetal medicine specialists and 12.9% were recent residency graduates. The mean increase in the per-quarter number of OBGYNs from before to after Dobbs was 8.3% (95% CI, 6.6%-10.1%) in states with total abortion bans, 10.5% (95% CI, 8.1%-13.0%) in states with gestational age limits or threatened bans, and 7.7% (95% CI, 5.9%-9.4%) in states with abortion protections. From the quarter immediately before Dobbs to the end of the study period, 95.8% of OBGYNs remained in protected states, 94.8% (95% CI, 94.3%-95.2%) remained in states threatening bans, and 94.2% (95% CI, 93.7%-94.7%) remained in states with abortion bans.

In this descriptive cohort study, there were no significant differences in trends in OBGYNs' practice locations across states with different abortion-related policy environments after the Dobbs decision. Although these findings do not provide insight into changes in the quality of care provided, they suggest that there are no major changes in the supply of OBGYNs associated with the Dobbs decision.