Cesarean section instead of a regular abortion, American women who cannot see a doctor until the twelfth week of pregnancy: a report published on Tuesday in Louisiana shows how the ban on abortion affects the care of pregnant women, reports AFP.

Four organizations, including the Center for Reproductive Rights and Physicians for Human Rights, conducted a survey between May and November 2023 of practitioners and patients in this conservative southern US state, one of the most restrictive on abortion.

Louisiana banned virtually all abortions after the US Supreme Court struck down the federal abortion guarantee in the summer of 2022. Abortion is expected to be a major issue in November’s presidential election, which, barring any surprises, will pit Democrat Joe Biden against Republican Donald Trump.

In their report, the organizations warn that Louisiana’s abortion exemptions are “narrow and ill-defined” and are causing “fear” and “confusion” among patients and their doctors.

One of the consequences for some pregnant women has been the refusal to get tested during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, “when miscarriages are more common,” according to the text, out of concern that they will have to deal with health conditions that may require an abortion and that they will be subject to criminal prosecution.

A pregnant woman who previously had miscarriages said in the message that she tried to make appointments with several doctors.

“I was told: no, sorry. Our new policy is that you have to wait 12 weeks,” she described.

“When I asked why (…), she told me bluntly: ‘The ban on abortion is new.’ We’re still trying to figure out how to adapt to that,” she added.

And yet examinations in the first trimester can be crucial, especially for detecting abnormalities.

Perhaps even more striking is the fact that, quoting medical practitioners, the report states that in some cases of life-threatening complications, “if an abortion is performed, doctors are more likely to resort to (…) C-section, an invasive surgery used to delivery of a fetus or child through an incision in the abdominal cavity instead of a conventional abortion.

This is to avoid any suspicion of an abortion, said an emergency physician quoted in the study. (photo: Traci Hahn | Dreamstime.com)