In June 2022, the Supreme Court's decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization turned the right to obtain or not obtain an abortion over to the states, which is very nuanced.  It is more than just a restriction of women’s rights but in some states, there is an aspect of criminalization.  This presents complications for occupational therapy practitioners in terms of how we practice with our Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, how we address occupational risk factors, and how it obscures our Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics.  Darya Nemati and Delany McKee, Boston University Occupational Therapy Doctoral Candidates, share their emerging research on recent changes in abortion laws and how these laws might influence occupational therapy practice.

References

Abdelfatah, R. & Araboluei, R. (Hosts). (2022, June 16). After Roe: A new battlefield [Audio podcast episode]. In Throughline. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1105245445/after-roe-a-new-battlefield

Abdelfatah, R. & Araboluei, R. (Hosts). (2022, May 19). Before Roe: The physician’s crusade [Audio podcast episode]. In Throughline. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/05/18/1099795225/before-roe-the-physicians-crusade

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). AOTA 2020 Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 3), 7413410005.  https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S3006

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001

Beddoe, L. (2022). Reproductive justice, abortion rights, and social work, Critical and Radical Social Work, 10(1), 7-22. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.1332/204986021X16355170868404

Levenson, M. (2023, June 24). Five things to know one year after the Dobbs decision. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/24/us/politics/roe-wade-anniversary-dobbs.html

Reagan, L. (2018, January 22). Roe made abortions legal, but it doesn't keep women and providers safe. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/reagan-opinion-roe-wade-harassment_n_5a63d88ee4b0dc592a096aa1?section=us_opinion