Citation

Tobin-Tyler E. New Engl. J. Med. 2022; 387(14): 1247-1249.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Massachusetts Medical Society)

DOI

10.1056/NEJMp2209696

PMID

36193948

Abstract

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which allows states to ban or restrict access to abortion, will have many implications for the health, economic stability, and equal opportunity of people who can become pregnant. A critical but often overlooked consequence of state abortion restrictions is the profound effect they can have on people experiencing intimate-partner violence (IPV). IPV encompasses physical and sexual violence and intimidation, as well as psychological abuse. Overall, one in three women in the United States experiences contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner (or a combination of these) at some point, with higher rates among women in historically marginalized racial or ethnic groups (see graph).1 At the same time, the Court's decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen to strike down state limits on who may carry a firearm in public could also have important repercussions for people in abusive relationships.

Most vulnerable in this new legal landscape will be people who have limited access to resources and services and inadequate protection against violence, especially those living in overburdened communities -- primarily young, low-income women from historically marginalized racial or ethnic groups.2 Black, Indigenous, and Latinx women are at higher risk for IPV-related homicide than White women are, and disparities in homicide rates are especially pronounced among women between 18 and 29 years of age.2,3 The majority of IPV-related homicides involve firearms.1-3 In light of these Court decisions, clinicians should prepare for the likelihood that more people of childbearing age will experience IPV and be at risk for firearm-associated homicide perpetrated by abusive partners. Legal restrictions on reproductive health care and access to abortion will leave people more vulnerable to control by their abusers. Policies permitting easier access to firearms, including the ability to carry guns in public, will further jeopardize survivors' safety...

Language: en