10-23-2022 W2W - Flipbook - Page 36
Danya Qato is an associate professor of epidemiology and health services research at the University of Maryland’s pharmacy and medical schools. PHOTO
BY BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLOR
that might otherwise prevent them from getting the
procedure, similarly has been increasing its capacity —
it had already been seeing more women coming from
out of state.
Nelson expressed concerns that other states will try to
target those who cross state lines to access services and
Planned Parenthood has been in contact with state and
local officials to make sure both patients and providers
are protected.
Kelly said how to safeguard providers and out-of-town
patients is among the issues raised by the overturning of
Roe, which came in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s
Health Organization.
“There’s a whole slew of questions Dobbs created,” she
said. “Data privacy has become a huge issue.
“Dobbs created a fear of how to safely care for out-ofstate patients. It creates fear even if the laws are clear. We
want to protect the providers.”
Several officials in Maryland responded quickly after
Roe was overturned to make clear where they stand on
any attempts at prosecutions by other states.
The state’s attorneys for Baltimore City and Prince
George’s County vowed their jurisdictions would be “safe
36 | 2022 | WOMEN TO WATCH
“People say, ‘Oh we’re so
lucky to live in Maryland.’ It’s
not luck, it’s hard work.”
— Karen J. Nelson, president and CEO
of Planned Parenthood of Maryland
spaces for abortion access.” Baltimore County said it will
not extradite anyone in connection with another state’s
abortion laws, as did Montgomery County.
Another effect of the overturning of Roe may be even
greater demand for medication rather than surgical abortions, experts said. More than half of abortions are already
done with the two-pill regimen, which can be used at
home rather than in a clinic thus providing more privacy.
It’s an offshoot of the climate of fear that has come to
surround reproductive rights, experts say.
“I know anecdotally patients are being a little more
careful who they disclose their health care needs to,
especially in states that have restricted abortion,” said
Danya Qato, an associate professor at the University of
Maryland Pharmacy School in Baltimore. “I’ve heard
patients are being very tight lipped about their health
care needs because they don’t know how it will be weaponized against them.”
Qato, who specializes in improving equity and access
to health care, sees a growing role for pharmacists in the
wake of the Supreme Court decision, particularly in a
state like Maryland. Since 2019, pharmacists here have
been allowed to prescribe contraceptives — which in
most other states require a doctor’s prescription — after
conducting a health screening.
While the Roe decision doesn’t directly affect birth
control, some may erroneously believe an abortion ban in
their state includes contraception, she said. And as many
have noted, Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring decision in the case overturning Roe said the court “should
reconsider” other rulings that used the same rationale —
that abortion was not protected by the due process clause
of the 14th Amendment. Among the cases he named was
Griswold v. Connecticut which, in 1965 established a right
to contraception.
“Maybe women will cross state lines to have conversation with a pharmacist here,” she said, “because they’re
not comfortable having it in their state.”