Hart Elizabeth J C, Dugan R Beth, Heuerman Anne C, Yashar Beverly M
Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan/Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Genetic Counseling Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
J Genet Couns. 2025 Aug;34(4):e70088. doi: 10.1002/jgc4.70088.
Genetic counselors (GCs) play key roles in discussing pregnancy management options with patients, including abortion care and coordination. Since the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, total or near-total abortion bans and frequent ban switching have occurred in many US states. A mixed methods approach (27 question survey assessing prenatal GCs' abortion referral/coordination practices before and after the overturn and semi-structured qualitative interviews exploring counseling adaptations, emotional well-being, and job satisfaction) was used to assess the effects of the overturn on prenatal GC practice. Survey responses from 35 prenatal GCs who have practiced for over 1 year were analyzed in four state categories that considered type and number of gestational age restriction changes after the overturn: Stable Restrictive (SR; N = 5), Newly Restrictive (NR; N = 5), Unstable (US; N = 8), and Stable Permissive (SP; N = 17). Paired t-tests compared "before" to "after" responses, and one-way ANOVA and Tukey tests compared differences between state categories. Results showed a statistically significant increase in reported distance to the nearest abortion clinic (p = 0.002) and reported wait times for abortion appointments (p < 0.001). Additionally, we found a statistically significant increase in prenatal GCs reporting that they often or always refer patients out of state for abortion care (p = 0.009). The reflexive thematic analysis framework was used for qualitative analysis. Through deductive and inductive analysis of follow-up interviews with 12 prenatal GCs from each state category (SR N = 2; NR N = 2; US N = 3; and SP N = 5), the researchers produced three cross-cutting themes: GCs altered practice due to legal uncertainty and changing policies, GCs built resource networks and self-educated, GCs experienced increased burden from their role in abortion coordination and care. These findings emphasize prenatal GCs' challenges in supporting their patients in all pregnancy management options and highlight the adaptations they have made to contend with abortion restrictions after the Roe v. Wade overturn.
遗传咨询师(GCs)在与患者讨论妊娠管理方案(包括堕胎护理与协调)方面发挥着关键作用。自2022年罗诉韦德案被推翻以来,美国许多州出现了全面或近乎全面的堕胎禁令,且禁令频繁变更。采用了一种混合方法(一项包含27个问题的调查,评估堕胎禁令被推翻前后产前遗传咨询师的堕胎转诊/协调做法,以及半结构化定性访谈,探讨咨询调整、情绪健康和工作满意度)来评估该禁令被推翻对产前遗传咨询师工作的影响。对35名从业超过1年的产前遗传咨询师的调查回复进行了分析,这些回复被归入四类州别,分类依据是禁令被推翻后孕周限制变化的类型和数量:稳定限制型(SR;N = 5)、新限制型(NR;N = 5)、不稳定型(US;N = 8)和稳定宽松型(SP;N = 17)。配对t检验比较了“之前”和“之后”的回复,单因素方差分析和Tukey检验比较了不同州别之间的差异。结果显示,报告的到最近堕胎诊所的距离(p = 0.002)和报告的堕胎预约等待时间(p < 0.001)在统计学上有显著增加。此外还发现,报告经常或总是将患者转诊到州外进行堕胎护理的产前遗传咨询师数量在统计学上有显著增加(p = 0.009)。采用反思性主题分析框架进行定性分析。通过对来自每个州别(SR N = 2;NR N = 2;US N = 3;SP N = 5)的12名产前遗传咨询师的后续访谈进行演绎和归纳分析,研究人员得出了三个贯穿各领域的主题:遗传咨询师因法律不确定性和政策变化而改变工作方式,遗传咨询师建立资源网络并自我学习,遗传咨询师在堕胎协调和护理中的角色负担加重。这些发现强调了产前遗传咨询师在支持患者进行所有妊娠管理方案时面临的挑战,并突出了他们在罗诉韦德案被推翻后为应对堕胎限制所做的调整。