Now that U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the implications of that action will be far reaching both for fertility practices and for health care providers in general.

The Reed Smith Reproductive Health Working Group has generated a series of “unanswered questions” client updates to reflect the issues that a Roe reversal may have for these providers. An earlier post on this blog shared Part I of that series that focuses on the issues facing pharmacies.

In Part II of the series, Scot Hasselman, Lesley Reynolds, Sarah Cummings Stewart, and John Kendzior analyze what the decision overturning Roe means generally for health care providers. Among the questions that are addressed are licensing issues, practice of medicine boundaries, oversight and compliance as well as issues for providers at long term care and other institutional settings.

In Part III of the series, Sarah Cummings Stewart, John Kendzior, Arielle Lusardi, and Kristin Parker consider the implications of the reversal on providers whose practice includes fertility care. Specifically, the group discusses the applicability of so-called fetal “personhood” laws as well as conflicts of laws and religious objections. Additionally, there are questions that arise for embryo storage and transportation.

All of the client updates are available here:

Unanswered Questions Part I: Pharmacies

Unanswered Questions Part II: Health Care Providers

Unanswered Questions Part III: Fertility

Reed Smith will continue to monitor any state or federal responses to this decision. If you have any questions about this topic or how the Court’s opinion will affect your organization legally, please reach out to the health care lawyers at Reed Smith.