I’ve always understood that being an abortion provider means heightened scrutiny. But lately, it feels like so much of my profession is being dictated by politics rather than medical judgment. Even my medical license is not safe.
I know I’m not alone.
Across the country, doctors are watching their ability to practice medicine be slowly chipped away, not because they are incompetent or dangerous, but because they provide care that some politicians want to see disappear.
This goes beyond the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In states hostile to abortion and gender-affirming care, the medical boards that issue and revoke our licenses are being transformed into enforcement arms for political agendas.
These are the same boards that have the power to strip a doctor of their ability to practice—a power they wield far more easily than the courts. A physician doesn’t have to be charged with a crime to lose their license. They don’t even have to be accused of harming a patient. In some states, just performing a legal medical procedure is enough.
We risk a future in which doctors aren’t allowed to provide the care our patients need—not because we don’t want to, but because we legally can’t.
Medical Licenses Are Being Targeted—Now
Medical boards exist to ensure doctors meet professional and ethical standards, but in states with extreme abortion restrictions, they are increasingly being used as weapons of political enforcement.
In theory, these boards should be impartial, holding doctors accountable for malpractice or unethical behavior. In reality, many have been stacked with political appointees who are loyal to governors and legislators pushing anti-abortion agendas.
Mother Jones reported that in 12 states with total or near-total abortion bans, more than half of medical board members have donated at least $1,000 to Republican campaigns. Some members have no medical background at all. One appointee was a Chevrolet dealership owner who had given nearly $100,000 to Republican candidates.
Dr. Leah Torres, a physician in Alabama, lost her medical license in what seemed like a targeted attack on an abortion provider. The state’s medical board suspended her ability to practice, citing discrepancies in paperwork—something that, for another doctor in another specialty, might have been a minor administrative issue. But Dr. Torres was an abortion provider, and in a place like Alabama, that made her a target.
She’s not the only one.
In Texas, an extremist anti-abortion group filed a complaint with the state medical board against Dr. Alan Braid after he performed an abortion in defiance of the state’s six-week ban.
I don’t practice in Alabama or Texas, but I know how quickly these attacks can spread. Laws restricting reproductive healthcare don’t just put patients in danger—they create an atmosphere of fear that keeps doctors from providing the care they’ve been trained to give.
When you’re a doctor in a state hostile to abortion care, the safest option is to stop providing abortion care altogether. Many will choose some level of risk to continue to get patients the care they need.
These laws create a chilling effect, compelling providers to comply in advance. That’s exactly what they want.
When Doctors Are Afraid to Practice
I’ve had conversations with colleagues in states with strict abortion bans, and the fear is palpable. These are doctors who want to help their patients but feel powerless against the laws that have been written to punish them for doing their jobs.
They tell about the impossible situations they find themselves in—patients in medical crises, hospital administrators demanding they wait just a little longer to intervene, and medical teams debating whether treating an ectopic pregnancy could be legally construed as an abortion.
And sometimes, they don’t intervene—not because they don’t know what to do, but because they don’t know if they’re allowed to.
National Public Radio reported on doctors who hesitated to perform a standard miscarriage procedure—one that could have saved a patient from infection—because they feared it could be classified as an abortion. The patient was sent home, only to return later, in even worse condition. That hesitation can be life-threatening.
The harm extends beyond immediate patient care. Doctors in these states are leaving. OB-GYN residency programs are struggling to attract applicants. Students are choosing to train elsewhere rather than risk working in an environment where they might not be able to practice full-spectrum reproductive care.
When doctors leave, entire communities suffer. Maternity hospitals in some states have shut down because they can’t find enough providers willing to work under these conditions.
What’s at Stake for All of Us
This issue might seem, at first glance, like something that only affects abortion providers. But if state governments can dictate how we practice medicine in one area, what stops them from doing it in others?
If a governor can stack a medical board with people who will revoke the licenses of abortion providers, what stops them from doing the same to doctors who provide gender-affirming care? In some states, that’s already happening. Laws are being passed to ban physicians from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to transgender youth, and doctors who defy these laws risk losing their licenses.
If we don’t push back, where does this stop?
Could doctors eventually face penalties for prescribing PrEP to prevent HIV transmission? For discussing contraception with minors? For treating chronic pain in a way that doesn’t align with restrictive opioid policies?
This is a much broader discussion than abortion. Should medicine be governed by evidence-based science or political ideology?
What We Can Do About It
Physicians should not have to practice in fear, and patients should not have to wonder whether their doctors will provide the care they need.
If we want to fight back, we need to start demanding the following:
1. Independent Medical Boards
Medical boards should not be stacked with political appointees who have a clear agenda to restrict care. We need oversight to ensure these boards are protecting patients, not enforcing ideological restrictions.
2. Legal Protections for Providers
Shield laws, like those passed in California and New York, must be expanded to protect doctors who provide telemedicine abortion to patients in banned states.
3. More Advocacy From Medical Institutions
Hospitals and universities must speak up on these issues. We need major healthcare organizations to fight back against the criminalization of medical care.
4. Public Pressure on Lawmakers
The public still trusts doctors more than politicians. We need to use our voices to educate patients and push for policies that protect medical autonomy.
Medicine Should Be Free From Political Retaliation
I became a doctor because I believe in providing care and want to help people every day—not just when it’s easy or convenient. Every physician I know feels the same way.
Medical care should not be dictated by politics. Every day, doctors are forced to choose between following evidence-based medicine or protecting their ability to practice. We should not have to make that choice.
We can’t afford to wait and see what happens next. If we don’t act, we won’t just lose the right to provide safe, legal procedures like abortions. We could lose the ability to practice medicine at all.
