Contraceptive Technology Update – July 1, 2024

U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rejected Lawsuit Challenging FDA’s Mifepristone Decisions

Reproductive healthcare and abortion providers can exhale in relief — however briefly — because a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision maintains telehealth access to mifepristone, an abortion drug, in the United States.

EMTALA Has Protected Pregnant Patients for Three Decades — Now That Could Be at Risk

Health-preserving emergency care for pregnant women could be up to each physician’s conscience and risk-taking ability after the U.S. Supreme Court debates whether the state of Idaho is exempt from providing emergency abortion care to women who may lose their uteruses or kidneys or suffer other major health problems with delayed abortion care.

What Did Supreme Court Justices Say About EMTALA and Abortion?

By the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide on whether Idaho and other states can require hospitals — through criminal laws — to turn away pregnant women experiencing a major health crisis when the best treatment for them is an abortion to end their pregnancy. Idaho presented a case that their state law preempts the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), and the federal government argued that EMTALA and the mission of protecting patients’ health and lives takes precedence.

Study: Small Decrease in Applicants to OB/GYN Residency Programs in Abortion-Ban States

Researchers looked at the impact of the overturn of Roe v. Wade on OB/GYN residency programs in the first year after the U.S. Supreme Court gave states the power to pass abortion bans with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. They found there was a small but significant decrease in the number of applications to states with stricter abortion laws from 2022 to 2023.

Study Suggests Need for Update in LARC Counseling About Acne

Investigators evaluated adolescent and young adult study participants seeking progestin-only long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and found there was a risk of the contraceptive worsening acne.

Study Shows that Family Planning Needs of Hispanics Vary According to Acculturation

New research of Hispanic women surveyed at a public hospital in a New York City suburb shows that a large proportion — nearly three in five — were unaware of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.