Health Wanted: Reproductive Health

The Episode

The topic: Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the availability of reproductive health care has become fragmented, with states implementing widely varying restrictions and protections. This week, on Health Wanted, host Laurel Bristow and guest, Whitney Rice, DrPH, cover the current state of reproductive rights in the United States and the impact on reproductive health and care.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW

The takeaway: Changes in abortion laws have created significant disparities in access to reproductive health care across the United States. And research shows that new restrictions in some states not only affect access to abortion, but also have broader implications for maternal and child health, fertility treatments, and family planning.

• The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson overturned nearly 50 years of federal protections for abortion. This decision led to a huge shift in reproductive rights across the United States, with some states banning or restricting services and others expanding access.
• Limited access to abortion is correlated with a lack of maternal health care services. States with strict abortion laws are seeing increases in maternal and infant mortality rates, particularly among marginalized groups.
• As access to abortion care becomes more limited in certain states, many people are forced to travel out of state for medical services. This trend is especially concerning for marginalized groups and those with lower socioeconomic status who may lack the means to travel long distances, exacerbating existing disparities in health care.

The Interview

The guest: Whitney Rice, DrPH, Director of the Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE)

The key takeaways:

• Restrictions on reproductive health care most significantly affect underserved populations and worsen existing health inequities. These populations include people with fewer economic resources, people living in rural areas, Black and Indigenous communities, and those already facing barriers to general health care.
• Many restrictive reproductive health care laws have confusing language about what is and what is not allowed, which can be difficult for health care providers. When providers cannot clearly interpret when and how to intervene legally, it can result in delays in important health care and even create life-threatening situations for pregnant people.
• Limited access to reproductive health care affects not just pregnant individuals, but also their families and communities. Economic difficulties, the risk of breaking the law, and strain on the health care system can create stress for families and caregivers.
• Innovations are emerging that can help to support reproductive health care in areas that need it most. Telehealth, mobile clinics, and the inclusion of diverse health care providers such as midwives and doulas, can help to improve access to care, especially in underserved areas.

The Listener Questions

What is going on with bird flu?

The risk of bird flu to the public is still extremely low.

There are now six health care worker who cared for the person hospitalized with bird flu case in Missouri. Five of them reported having symptoms after, but at a time too late to test them for the virus.

This doesn’t automatically mean there is human-to-human transmission of bird flu. There has been a ton of COVID in August and it’s entirely possible that they had a different respiratory illness. The one health care worker who was tested was flu negative.

A close household contact reported having a symptom onset on the same day as the index case (the original person in Missouri who was hospitalized with symptoms), which means that it is highly unlikely to be person-to-person transmission but could that they could have had the same exposure.

That is, of course, if that household contact even had bird flu in the first place.

The CDC has received blood samples from all five health care worker and the close contact to see if they contain antibodies to the bird flu virus. Testing is expected to take a few more weeks to complete.

When will the new home flu vaccine be available?

FluMist is a nasal spray flu vaccine that’s been used in doctor’s offices and pharmacies for years for people aged 2-49. It just received approval from the FDA to be administered at home starting fall of 2025.

It’s not available this season but starting next season you’ll be able to fill out a form in an online portal to assess your eligibility, and then the FluMist can be sent to your home and administered by anyone 18 and up!

It’s convenient and it’s needle free. It’s a strong alternative option to help more people get access to flu vaccines.

Catch all the listener questions and Laurel’s answers on the full episode of Health Wanted by:

• Streaming at wabe.org or the WABE app
• Subscribing on Apple or Spotify
• Watching on WABE's YouTube channel