States with abortion bans may see an unappreciated consequence when it comes to their physician workforce: fewer medical students, especially those interested in obstetrics and gynecology, are choosing to do their residency training there.

This could mean a looming shortage of doctors practicing in those states, since some 55%opens in a new tab or window of residency graduates end up practicing in the same state in which they trained.

“I think those states are going to have fewer doctors,” said Atul Grover, MD, PhD, executive director of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Research and Action Institute, who co-authored a reportopens in a new tab or window that examined what could be the start of a worrisome trend.

In an interview with MedPage Today, Grover noted that “if nothing else changes, if this is a trend, [states with restrictive policies] are likely to have even fewer ob/gyns available than they do now. And we know that a lot of states already have what are basically maternal care deserts.”

The report showed that while the number of U.S. […]