Legal and Risk Management Considerations for Mental Health Providers When Patients Need or Choose an Abortion After the Supreme Court Ruling in Dobbs

For decades, medical and other healthcare providers treating and advising patients about their reproductive healthcare, including possible pregnancy termination, were not concerned about the implications of providing the best care for their patients or about possible repercussions for themselves in doing so. In 2022, the Supreme Court changed that equation with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In the wake of Dobbs, state legislatures around the country have proposed or enacted legislation banning abortion, severely limiting access to abortion, and/or imposing civil and/or criminal liability on healthcare providers, patients, and others who may assist patients in obtaining an abortion. As a result, providers, including mental health providers (“MHPs”), have and should be concerned about legal and risk management considerations in treating their patients who are considering whether to terminate a pregnancy. This chapter considers two categories of anti-choice legislation that are most likely to impact MHPs—those that have the potential to directly target MHPs who work with pregnant patients and those that might make an MHP’s patients the target of criminal investigations. This chapter illustrates how MHPs now face an ever-changing legal landscape layered with ethical considerations which are paramount in treating patients and encourages MHPs to obtain legal consultation in order to assess the level of risk presented in the relevant state and to assist with making clinical choices when working with patients seeking support and counseling around reproductive care including possible termination of a pregnancy.