Dem
47
GOP
53
The original "brain drain" referred to highly educated and talented people from all over the world immigrating to the U.S., to the detriment of their home countries. More recently, it has acquired a new meaning: People migrating from red states to blue states—in particular, over red state policies like abortion.
A recent study shows that, as a result of the Dobbs decision, almost 150,000 people/year are moving out of states with abortion bans to states without them. The people leaving are often the most valuable residents, often highly desirable young professionals, some of them in key public health roles. If large numbers of highly educated young people leave a state, that is not a good omen for the state's future. Coal mining doesn't hack it as much as it used to.
Another study, published this week in the JAMA Internal Medicine, also found that a significant number of doctors have left states with abortion bans. In some states, there are already so few OB/GYNs willing to work there (for fear of having to tell patients that unfortunately they have to die because saving their lives would be illegal) that patients sometimes have to drive for hours just to get routine care. If a pregnant woman goes into labor unexpectedly, having her husband handle the delivery with a smartphone in one hand, cheered on by a distant doctor on Zoom, may become the new normal in some places. Heaven forbid that something goes wrong and the nearest OB/GYN is 3 hours away in a different state. (V)