Introduction:

Earlier this year, the 1973 U.S. Supreme court case of Roe. V Wade was overturned. This court decision allowed women the right to an abortion and other reproductive procedures through their right to privacy. An abortion is a procedure that terminates pregnancy and can be done either by taking a pill or a surgical process. The overturn then created a domino effect of multiple states banning abortions, but what does this mean for the public? For one, “back-alley” abortions, an abortion done without the proper medical procedures or tools, will start up again. Thus leading to an increased number of women with sepsis. With abortion banned, this might cause diagnostics for physicians to be harder or too late when they treat these women because information about what led them there may be hidden for legal reasons (Saultes et al). Furthermore, Roe v. Wade allowed genetic testing and fertility treatments, such as IVF (In vitro fertilization), to fall under it so they are therefore exposed to the effects of the overturn and this puts a limit on the scientific research done for these procedures. 

Sepsis After “Back-Alley” Abortions:

“Back-alley” abortions, or abortions performed without professional medical assistance, were common before Roe V. Wade was established. Now that it has been overturned, many people fear that there will be a huge increase in numbers for them. Unsafe abortions done through uterine instrumentation or vaginal preparations and cervical dilators can lead to death or many lifelong health problems including sepsis. Sepsis is how the body responds to infection. It releases cytokines such as IL-1, TNF, and IL-17 to fight the infection in the bloodstream (Delano et al.). However, these chemicals cause inflammation throughout the body which then leads to various organ system failures. If a patient arrives at the physician already in septic shock or the early stages of sepsis, it’s harder to reverse. When the amount of time it takes to learn the cause of the infection adds on, because of concealment, the patient’s health will become worse and will most likely lead to death. If the patient never tells the physician about the self-induced abortion, the physician will most likely request an OB/GYN (obstetrician-gynecologist) to perform an ultrasound to see if there was/is a pregnancy to further make assumptions. 

Genetic Testing and Fertility Treatments

Genetic testing for reproduction, or prenatal genetic testing,  pairs together DNA sequences to test for future abnormalities, mutations, and differences that might occur or are already occurring in the offspring. This helps IVF (in vitro fertilization). Parents can choose the healthiest embryo out of all fertilized samples (Murphy et al). General fertility treatments also require the fertilization of multiple eggs which results in numerous embryos. With Roe V. Wade overturned, there will be limits on how many eggs can be fertilized at a time which slows down the process of genetic testing and fertility treatments. Not only will there be limitations, but the disposal of fertilized embryos that are no longer needed would be illegal, under the definition. This then also slows down genetic and reproductive research for scientists and can mess with the data they are searching for. For instance, if a scientist is testing for a type of disease that can be found at 12 weeks in an embryo and the state law decides that abortion is illegal after 15 weeks, they will never know if the disease can mutate if given more weeks to develop. 

Conclusion:

The overturn of the U.S. Supreme court case Roe V. Wade has and can cause various moral, social, and legal impacts on the world, but also scientific impacts. In states that ban abortion, women may go to lengths to terminate their pregnancy on their terms through improper, unsafe abortions. This leads to life-threatening complications such as sepsis and leaves physicians treating them in a time crunch to save their lives. Furthermore, genetic testing and fertility treatments may be jeopardized by the overturn. Both procedures usually require testing on multiple embryos so, with Roe V. Wade in effect, limitations can be inflicted upon them. Additionally, extensive research done on embryos will also be limited because of the time frame a state may put on abortions. 

References

Delano, M. J., & Ward, P. A. (2016). The Immune System’s Role in Sepsis Progression, Resolution and Long-Term Outcome. Immunological Reviews, 274(1), 330–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/imr.12499 Explains what exactly sepsis is and what can lead to it. 

Murphy, R. (2022). How Could The End of Roe v. Wade Impact IVF, Fertility Treatments, and Genetic Screening? (n.d.). Health. https://www.health.com/condition/reproductive-health/roe-v-wade-impact-ivf-fertility-treatments-genetic-testing Lists and explains how the overturn will affect genetic testing and fertility treatments.

Saultes, T. A., Devita, D., & Heiner, J. D. (2009). The back alley revisited: sepsis after attempted self-induced abortion. The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 10(4), 278–280. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791734/ The difficulties of treating sepsis after a self-induced abortion through a physician’s lenses.

Temme, L. E. (2022, July 7). Why Was Roe v. Wade Overturned? Findlaw. https://supreme.findlaw.com/supreme-court-insights/could-roe-v–wade-be-overturned-.html Gives background and insight on Roe V. Wade and why it was overturned