For the second year in a row, fewer graduates of U.S. medical schools are applying to residency programs in states with abortion bans, according to a new data analysis from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Overall, residency programs in all states saw a decrease in the total number of applicants from students in their senior year of a doctor of medicine program for the 2023-2024 application period relative to the year prior. However, programs in states with strict abortion bans saw larger decreases.
Residencies in states with abortion bans saw the number of unique U.S. MD senior applicants drop 4.2% compared to the previous application cycle, compared to a 0.6% decrease in states where abortions remain legal.
"...while states with more severe restrictions are often less populous (and have fewer residency programs) than other states, U.S. MD applicants may be selectively reducing their likelihood of applying to programs in states with more state-imposed restrictions on health care regardless of the number of available residency programs," AAMC said in their May 10 data snapshot.
"Because these policy decisions appear to affect where physicians plan to practice, state governments and health care leaders need to consider the potential impact of those decisions on the physician workforce."
Fourteen states have enacted near-total abortion bans as of April 1.
The AAMC also evaluated data across specialties. When looking at specialties whose patients are most likely to be affected by abortion bans, pediatric residencies saw the largest overall drop — 8.5% — in unique applicants in 2024, compared to the last application cycle.
View the full breakdown here.