2022 saw historic shake-ups in the policies around abortion access across the US. Although abortion has been a huge topic of discussion over the last year, debates about reproductive rights are not novel. Public health experts have long understood that abortion is ultimately a health topic and the health outcomes related to its access have significant consequences.

We’ve brought together public health experts to discuss the ways in which abortion impacts public health, who suffers most when abortion access becomes limited, and why it’s important for public health professionals to be loud in their advocacy around reproductive rights and justice. In part one of this two-part episode, we discuss the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the public health consequences—as well as where things stand when policies around health vary across the country.