Post-Dobbs Psychiatric Exceptions in Abortion-Restricting States

Mental disorders and suicide are important causes of increased morbidity and mortality rates during pregnancy. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, many state legislatures have passed stringent abortion bans and restrictions. These laws define exceptions under which abortion may be legally obtained. Suicidality and other psychiatric symptoms have been excluded from such definitions. In this column, the authors examine how legislatures, courts, and professional regulatory bodies in several abortion-restricting states have defined their medical emergency exceptions. The authors argue that psychiatrists should be concerned about the management of psychiatric emergencies during pregnancy as well as emerging legal intrusions into physician-patient decision making.