Impact of West Virginia Abortion Ban on West Virginia Physician Trainee Practice Intentions

Authors

Rebecca Wald, West Virginia UniversityFollow
Kristy WardFollow
Sarah Dotson, West Virginia UniversityFollow

Corresponding Author

Rebecca Wald, MD; waldrebecca2@gmail.com

Kristy Ward, MD, MCR; kristy.ward@hsc.wvu.edu

Sarah Dotson, MD, MPH; sarah.dotson1@hsc.wvu.edu

Author Affiliations

1. Rebecca Wald, MD: OB/GYN Resident, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West Virginia University (Morgantown WV); E-mail: waldrebecca2@gmail.com
2. Kristy Ward, MD, MCR: Associate Professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West Virginia University; E-mail: kristy.ward@hsc.wvu.edu
3. Sarah Dotson, MD, MPH: Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West Virginia University; E-mail: sarah.dotson1@hsc.vwu.edu

Author Area of Expertise

Rebecca Wald, MD, OB/GYN resident

Kristy Ward, MD, MCR, Gynecologic Oncology

Sarah Dotson, MD, MPH, Family Planning

Abstract

In June 2022, the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe vs. Wade. Shortly after, West Virginia (WV) began enforcing a near total ban on abortion. Statewide restrictions on access to reproductive health care have important implications for the recruitment and retention of physicians. This project aimed to determine overall awareness of the 2022 changes in abortion laws among physician trainees, and whether the law influenced the intention of resident/fellow physicians to practice medicine in the state following completion of their medical training. A total of 178 resident and fellow physicians at West Virginia University were recruited via an email invitation. Survey responses demonstrated that 91.6% of trainees were aware of the change in abortion legislation. Among all respondents, 52.2% reported being less likely to practice in WV because of the ban. Compared to residents, fellows were much more likely not to want to practice in WV (82.7% vs. 48.2%, p <0.001), and no fellows reported being more likely to practice in the state because of the ban. First-year trainees, who chose WVU for residency after the 2022 legislative changes, were more likely to want to practice in WV compared to trainees who started prior to the law (28.9% vs. 11.3%, p =0.015). Open ended commentary revealed that this is an important issue for physician trainees. These findings have important implications for recruitment and retention of physicians to abortion-restricted states and may also suggest changes to where medical students are applying for residency.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.13023/jah.0704.07

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Wald R, Ward K, Dotson S. Impact of West Virginia abortion ban on West Virginia physician trainee practice intentions. J Appalach Health 2025; 7(4):116-127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13023/jah.0704.07