How the End of <em>Roe</em> Would Change Prenatal Care

Pregnancy, in this age of modern medicine, comes with a series of routinely recommended prenatal tests: At 11 weeks, a blood draw and an ultrasound to check for conditions such as Down syndrome. At 15 weeks, another blood test, for anomalies such as spina bifida. At 18 to 22, an ultrasound anatomy scan of the baby’s heart, brain, lungs, bones, stomach, fingers, and toes. This is when many parents learn if they’re expecting a boy or girl—but the more pressing medical reason is to look for anatomical defects, including severe ones such as missing kidneys or missing parts of the brain and skull.

With in place in America, women undergoing prenatal tests have typically had the legal right to, , it will be further curtailed in some states. Routine parts of prenatal care could start to look quite different in states that ban abortion than in states that allow it.