A chill wind blows: Webster, obstetrics, and the health of women.

The Supreme Court decision in Webster v Reproductive Health Services permits states to regulate abortion in fashions that may be medically unsound and may significantly restrict access. This decision challenges the contemporary practice of obstetrics and threatens to curtail access to needed services, particularly for poor women, who are at highest risk of pregnancy-associated medical complications and death. Governmental restrictions on abortion interfere with the obstetrician's basic goal of providing optimal care for the patient. Obstetricians dedicated to providing the best care to their patients should help to ensure that safe abortion be part of a spectrum of reproductive health care that is available to all American women.