Unintended Consequences

I worked for a Texas State agency for eight years; Susan worked in another State agency for more than twice as long. Many of our colleagues and workmates in those venues had even longer careers. All of us witnessed the Texas Legislature’s tinkering with state laws every two years. Some of that tinkering was almost tectonic – typically occurring when the political majority in the state government abruptly changed from one party to the other. Other changes were driven by PACs – the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Texas Medical Association were both big political forces. Today, there are still others. Let there be no doubt, Money Talks.

The remainder of the changes were amendments to laws from the previous or prior legislative session(s) that addressed the unintended consequences of those laws. Perhaps a law made fraud much easier to commit. Perhaps another created a permissive environment for some socially undesirable activity. Still another led to an exodus of physicians from the state because of a toxic medical-legal milieu.

There will be unintended consequences to today’s reversal of Roe; count on it. I’m not referring to the consequences that are sure to flow from the legal rationale for the court’s decision – the reversal of additional rights. I refer to societal consequences.

For one, I will be surprised if we do not see significant increases in pregnancy-related violence. I expect suicide to increase among pregnant people. I expect maternal mortality (deaths per 100K pregnancies) to increase. I expect access to maternal health care to worsen as practitioners of obstetrics decide to limit or stop providing obstetrical services. If I were an OB, I wouldn’t want to risk life imprisonment because I treated a tubal pregnancy of terminated a pregnancy that would predictably end in the death of the fetus and or mother. No, fuck that. I’m moving to California.

I expect the number of special needs children to increase significantly – straining state budgets for the care of kids who are both indigent and disabled. And, as in all such things, I expect that there will be other unintended consequences that I have not even contemplated.