Vanderbilt makes certain policy changes to ‘mitigate’ harm from Tennessee’s all-out abortion ban

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is making policy changes related to Tennessee’s all-out abortion ban that took effect Thursday. The health system is not spelling out those policies with any detail but may be taking cues from a University of Michigan physician.

In an internal statement to its own medical staff, Vanderbilt simply says it’s trying to lessen some of the health care and equity concerns that are anticipated due to Tennessee’s abortion ban, which makes no exceptions and could require doctors to defend their actions even if the abortion was needed to save the life of the pregnant patient.

“Our goal is to support our clinicians to provide comprehensive reproductive health care to women in need, including facilitating appropriate care for our patients who are pregnant, consistent with federal and state law,” the statement says, in part.

A spokesman declined to provide any further context to the statement, which is fairly vague. But there is a hyperlink in the statement — just one — and it’s to this article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Lisa Harris at the University of Michigan describes the academic medical center’s preparation for Michigan’s abortion ban to take effect. She describes two types of patients that may need help: those who can travel out of state, and those who can’t.

For those with the means and time to travel, Harris says academic medical centers should handle the prep work for an abortion — like labs and imaging — so patients can be fast-tracked to an outpatient clinic. She calls it “teeing up” the patient.

For those who can’t afford to go, Harris says emergency doctors should be familiarizing themselves with the rare complications that can arise from a self-managed abortion. The drugs needed for a medication abortion in the first trimester are fairly available online, and some advocates have been encouraging their use in the face of all-out bans.

Vanderbilt does say it will facilitate care for pregnant patients consistent with state and federal laws. The medical center also plans to lobby for changes to the abortion ban that “evidence has shown are in the best interest of women’s health.”