Invasive Testing and Pregnancy Termination in a Post-Roe United States
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
7:23am – 7:30am
Location: 410
Authors: Jennifer van Dyk, NewYork Presbyterian Weill Cornell Brittany Roser, New York Presbyterian Hospital- Weill Cornell Sarah Weingarten, Weill Cornell Medicine Stephen Chasen, Weill-Cornell Medical College
In the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not protect the right to abortion prior to viability. Predictably, many states have passed statutes restricting the gestational age at which pregnancy terminations are legal.
A common indication for abortion is fetal structural anomalies, and these can be late in the first-trimester at the earliest. Some structural conditions cannot be suspected until the second-trimester.
Some genetic conditions are identified due to risk factors identified through laboratory testing, though some are only suspected by ultrasound findings. Conditions characterized by structural abnormalities will thus be detected later in pregnancy. The availability of first-trimester invasive testing by CVS may also vary, and lack of availability can also delay prenatal diagnosis.
In this study, we reviewed the terminations at our institution based on abnormal genetic or structural findings, and determined the percentages that would be illegal in each state. Our data may be useful in identifying strategies to expedite prenatal diagnosis, though states with the most restrictive statutes these are unlikely to be successful.