More women sought permanent contraception after Supreme Court Dobbs decision

A new study finds that the political climate influenced decision making and reproductive health and family planning

Penn State

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HERSHEY, Pa. — In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ended the federal constitutional right to abortion and returned authority to individual states to regulate abortion. A new study from researchers at Penn State, Albany Medical Center, University of South Florida and University of Tennessee Medical Center revealed that the change in abortion policies appears to have a trickle-down effect, influencing reproductive health and family planning decisions.

The research team found that the number of women undergoing tubal ligations — a surgical procedure that permanently prevents pregnancy — increased 51% across four academic medical centers in four states in the year after the Supreme Court decision compared to the prior year. A greater proportion of those seeking the procedure were also younger and had never given birth before.

The study, which was published in the journal Contraception, is the first to examine the impact of political factors on patients deciding to seek female permanent contraceptive procedures. Almost half of those seeking the procedure reported that their decision was somewhat or very related to the current political climate, even in states considered to be protective of abortion access.

“The Dobbs decision was an inflection point that made people think about their future plans,” said Sarah Horvath, associate professor and vice chair of research in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and co-author on the study. “More than anything, we saw that the Dobbs decision impacted the timing for people seeking tubal ligations more than it influenced the actual decision to have the procedure.”

Tubal ligations are a safe and effective method of preventing pregnancy permanently, explained Horvath. After the Dobbs decision, she and her colleagues witnessed an uptick in the number of people pursuing tubal ligations or asking about the procedure, a trend that has been noted in other studies in the field. But there wasn’t much information available on the reasons why individuals were seeking this method of contraception.

The researchers collected data from four academic medical centers across states with a range of abortion policies and compared procedure volumes the year before and after the Dobbs decision — from July 2021 to June 2022 and from July 2022 to June 2023, respectively. The centers were located in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Tennessee.

In New York and Pennsylvania, the researchers also asked patients to complete a survey during their consultation appointment to learn more about their decision-making process. The survey included questions about how long a patient has known they wanted permanent contraception, any prior attempts to obtain permanent contraception, reasons for choosing this method of contraception over reversible options, reasons for seeking the procedure at this time and if their decision was related to the current political climate.

Across all four centers, the number of procedures increased from 445 in the year prior to Dobbs to 674 in the year after, an increase of 51%. The profile of those seeking permanent contraception shifted, too, with more individuals under the age of 30. The proportion of patients who haven’t previously given birth also increased from 10.2% to 21.2%.

“I didn’t really have anyone come in who had never thought about permanent contraception before Dobbs and now, all of a sudden, they wanted the procedure. That didn’t happen,” Horvath said. She explained that most patients she encountered were satisfied with their current reversible contraceptive method but were worried that their options would be more limited in the future or that their insurance wouldn’t cover their preferred method anymore. Those concerns prompted them to seek a permanent method to prevent pregnancy.

The data also showed differences across states that didn’t align with the degrees of abortion restrictiveness in the state, the researchers explained. New York, a state considered to be protective of abortion access saw the biggest jump in monthly procedures, increasing by 128%. Procedures increased by 70.6% and 32.6% in Tennessee and Florida, respectively — states that are more restrictive when it comes to abortion — whereas procedures increased 28.4% in Pennsylvania.

Among individuals in New York and Pennsylvania, 47% reported that the current political climate was somewhat or very related to their decision to obtain permanent contraception. While most individuals sought the procedure because of its effectiveness and permanence, one in five individuals cited concerns about future access to reproductive health options including abortion in addition to permanent and reversible contraception options.

“There was a lot of fear after Dobbs that people would no longer have control over their reproductive rights,” said co-author Alice Cai, who earned her medical degree and completed her residency at Penn State College of Medicine during the time of the study and currently practices in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “We saw that even in states with more protective policies like New York, people still made decisions based off of that fear.”

Other authors on the paper include Rachel Flink-Bochacki and Sarah Pogge from Albany Medical Center; Amelia Llerena and Cheryl Godcharles from the University of South Florida; and Megan Young, William Havron IV and Nikki Zite from the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

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Journal

Contraception

DOI

10.1016/j.contraception.2025.111210 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Changes in female permanent contraception at academic medical centers following the Dobbs decision

 

After Dobbs, Illinois abortion clinics saw surge in out-of-state patients

Providers adapted to maintain access for in-state patients

Ohio State University

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, two large Illinois abortion providers saw a 35% increase in abortions, driven by out-of-state patients who lived where abortion care was illegal or more restricted, according to new research.

From July 2021 through June 2022, the clinics, which provide about half of the state’s abortions, reported 24,071 abortions. In the year after Dobbs, that number rose to 32,579. A 191% increase in out-of-state patients came without a decrease in services for Illinois residents, researchers found.

Illinois became one of the closest options for many people in the Midwest and South, where many states restricted or banned abortion after Dobbs. To accommodate the increase, providers in Illinois expanded gestational limits, established mobile sites and made other adjustments, said lead author Mikaela Smith of The Ohio State University College of Public Health.

“The clinics were creative and quick to respond,” said Smith, a research scientist who works with the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network, a multi-institution group that researches abortion and contraception, focused on policies and inequities in Ohio and neighboring states.

“There was a concern that with additional patients coming in from other states, access to care for Illinois residents might be more limited. We didn’t see that in this case,” she said.

The study, published online in the American Journal of Public Health, used data from a monthly survey of Illinois abortion providers.

Beyond the surge in out-of-state patients, the analysis showed a 22% increase in medication abortions, a 53% increase in procedural abortions and a 75% increase in abortions performed at 12 weeks of pregnancy or later.

The Illinois findings are part of a series of papers from OPEN’s ongoing monitoring of abortion access in the Midwest.

Last year, an OPEN study evaluating abortion care in Ohio following the Dobbs decision reported a 56% decrease in abortions in the three-month period when abortions could not be performed if embryonic cardiac activity was detected (about six weeks of pregnancy duration). After that ban was lifted, the number of patients seeking an abortion increased, as did the percentage from out of state.

Alison Norris of Ohio State’s College of Public Health was a co-author on both studies.

 

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CONTACT: Mikaela Smith, Smith.14017@osu.edu

Written by Misti Crane, Crane.11@osu.edu; 614-292-3739

 

 

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Journal

American Journal of Public Health

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2025.308273 

Article Title

Clinic Adaptations and Changes in Abortion Use After Dobbs in Illinois, July 2021–June 202

 

Researchers find that adaptive music technologies enhance exercise engagement and enjoyment

University of Jyväskylä - Jyväskylän yliopisto

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image: 

Dr. Andrew Danso. 

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Credit: Petteri Kivimäki (University of Jyväskylä)

Researchers from University of Jyväskylä have found that personalized interactive music systems – smart technologies that adapt rhythm and tempo to users’ movements – can make exercise more enjoyable and help people stay active longer.

These systems, known as PIMSs, use real-time data from wearables and smartphones to adjust musical features such as beat, tempo, and style to match the user’s pace – whether walking, cycling or lifting weights.

For example, when the systems detects you speeding up, it raises the music’s tempo to match your energy – helping you stay motivated and in rhythm.

This new systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to examine how interactive, adaptive music can influence both exercise performance and emotional experience. Participants who exercised with adaptive music reported more positive feelings and greater motivation during their workouts — in other words, they enjoyed exercising more.

The findings also show that faster music tempos were linked with greater benefits, supporting the idea that matching music to movement can help sustain effort and improve performance.

“Music has always been a motivator for movement. By personalizing it in real time, we might better support people in sustaining exercise routines,” says Dr. Andrew Danso, lead author from the University of Jyväskylä’s Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain.

The review analysed results from 18 studies across Europe, Asia, and North America, highlighting the growing potential of adaptive music systems in making physical activity more engaging and sustainable.

The study suggests these technologies could play a key role in encouraging people to stay active — an important step in addressing global health challenges linked to physical inactivity.

About the Study

The study, “Personalized Interactive Music Systems for Physical Activity and Exercise: Exploratory Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” (DOI: 10.2196/70372), was conducted by an international team from Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Singapore, India, Belgium, and beyond.

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Journal

JMIR Human Factors

DOI

10.2196/70372 

Method of Research

Systematic review

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Personalized Interactive Music Systems for Physical Activity and Exercise: Exploratory Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis

 

Meditation retreat rapidly reprograms body and mind

A one-week mind-body retreat triggered systematic brain and molecular changes linked to resilience, pain relief and stress recovery

University of California - San Diego

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image: 

This diagram illustrated connections between different areas of the brain during rest and meditation. Researchers at UC San Diego found that meditation reduces connections in parts of the brain associated with inner chatter and synchronized activity across different areas of the brain.

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Credit: Alex Jinich-Diamant/UC San Diego Health Sciences

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have found that an intensive retreat combining multiple mind-body techniques, including meditation and healing practices, produced rapid and wide-ranging changes in brain function and blood biology. The researchers found that the retreat engaged natural physiological pathways promoting neuroplasticity, metabolism, immunity and pain relief. The findings, published in Communications Biology, provide insights into how consciousness and psychological practices can enhance physical health.

Meditation and other mind-body practices have been utilized by cultures worldwide for thousands of years to promote health and wellness; however, the underlying biology of these approaches remains poorly understood. The new study, part of a multi-million-dollar research initiative supported by the InnerScience Research Fund, is the first to comprehensively quantify the biological effects of multiple mind-body techniques administered together over a short period.

"We’ve known for years that practices like meditation can influence health, but what’s striking is that combining multiple mind-body practices into a single retreat produced changes across so many biological systems that we could measure directly in the brain and blood," said senior study author Hemal H. Patel, Ph.D., professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and research career scientist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. “This isn’t about just stress relief or relaxation; this is about fundamentally changing how the brain engages with reality and quantifying these changes biologically.”

As part of the study, 20 healthy adults attended a 7-day residential program led by neuroscience educator and author Joe Dispenza, D.C., featuring daily lecture sessions, approximately 33 hours of guided meditation and group healing practices. These practices used an “open-label placebo” approach, meaning participants knowingly took part in healing activities presented as placebos — procedures or treatments with no active medical ingredient, but which can still produce real benefits through the power of expectation, social connection and shared practices.

Before and after the retreat, participants had their brains scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), an approach that measures brain activity in real time. The researchers also used blood testing to measure changes in metabolic activity, immune activation and other biological functions.  

The researchers observed several major changes after the retreat:

• Brain network changes: Meditation during the retreat reduced activity in parts of the brain associated with mental chatter, making brain function more efficient overall.
• Enhanced neuroplasticity: When applied to laboratory-grown neurons, blood plasma from post-retreat participants made brain cells grow longer branches and form new connections.
• Metabolic shifts: Cells treated with post-retreat plasma showed an increase in glycolytic (sugar-burning) metabolism, indicating a more flexible and adaptive metabolic state.
• Natural pain relief: Blood levels of endogenous opioids – the body’s natural painkillers – increased after the retreat, indicating that the body’s natural pain-relief systems were activated.
• Immune activation: Meditation increased inflammatory and anti-inflammatory immune signals simultaneously, suggesting a complex, adaptive immune response rather than a simple suppression or activation.
• Gene and molecular signaling changes: Small RNA and gene activity in blood shifted after the retreat, particularly in pathways related to brain function.

Participants also completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30) to assess whether they had a “mystical” experience during meditation—characterized by profound feelings of unity, transcendence, and altered states of consciousness. Average MEQ scores increased significantly after the retreat, rising from 2.37 before the retreat to 3.02 afterwards. Higher scores on these surveys were also correlated with greater biological changes after the retreat, including greater integration of brain activity across different regions. In other words, the more connected the brain is, the greater the likelihood of a mystical experience.

The findings suggest that intensive meditation can trigger very similar brain activity to that which has been previously documented with psychedelic substances.

“We're seeing the same mystical experiences and neural connectivity patterns that typically require psilocybin, now achieved through meditation practice alone,” added Patel. “Seeing both central nervous system changes in brain scans and systemic changes in blood chemistry underscores that these mind-body practices are acting on a whole-body scale.”

The study results provide a biological framework for understanding how non-drug mind-body interventions can support health and well-being. By enhancing neuroplasticity and activating the immune system, these practices could help promote mental health, emotional regulation and stress resilience. Additionally, the activation of endogenous opioid pathways suggests that this combination of mind-body practices may also be useful for chronic pain management.

While the retreat’s effects were measured in healthy adults, the researchers emphasize that controlled trials in patient populations are still needed to determine specific clinical benefits and applications. They are particularly interested in whether mind-body retreats can benefit people with chronic pain, mood disorders or immune-related conditions.

Looking ahead, the research team plans to investigate how each individual component of the retreat — meditation, reconceptualization, and open-label placebo healing — works alone and in combination. Additionally, future studies will investigate the duration of these biological changes and whether repeated interventions can enhance or sustain their effects.

“This study shows that our minds and bodies are deeply interconnected — what we believe, how we focus our attention, and the practices we participate in can leave measurable fingerprints on our biology,” said first author Alex Jinich-Diamant, a doctoral student in the Departments of Cognitive Science and Anesthesiology at UC San Diego. “It’s an exciting step toward understanding how conscious experience and physical health are intertwined, and how we might harness that connection to promote well-being in new ways.”

Link to full paper: https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09088-3  

Additional coauthors of the study include Sierra Simpson, Juan P. Zuniga-Hertz, Ramamurthy Chitteti, Jan M. Schilling, Jacqueline A. Bonds, Laura Case, Andrei V. Chernov, Natalia Esther Amkie Stahl, Michael Licamele, Narin Fazlalipour and, Swetha Devulapalli, at UC San Diego; Joe Dispenza and Michelle A. Poirier at Metamorphosis LLC; Jacqueline Maree and Tobias Moeller-Bertram at VitaMed Research; and Leonardo Christov-Moore and Nicco Reggente at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies.

This work was supported by the InnerScience Research Fund and a Veterans Administration Research Career Scientist Award (BX005229).

Disclosure: One co-author (Joe Dispenza) is employed by Encephalon, Inc., the company offering the retreat; all other authors declare no competing interests.

Professor Hemal Patel, Ph.D., reviewing data from patients participating in a meditation event.

Participant in a meditation event.

A participant is monitored during a meditation event.

Credit

Encephalon Inc.

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Journal

Communications Biology

DOI

10.1038/s42003-025-09088-3 

COI Statement

One co-author (Joe Dispenza) is employed by Encephalon, Inc., the company offering the retreat; all other authors declare no competing interests.

 

Researchers unite to frame US deportations as a national health crisis

University of California - Merced

Current U.S. immigration enforcement and deportation policies are producing widespread harm to physical and mental health, with family separation and the specters of fear and intimidation affecting the well-being of immigrant and non-immigrant communities.

That’s the warning from several longtime public health researchers, who also outline proven community and policy actions that could reduce harm and strengthen health in communities across the nation.

Professors from five prestigious U.S. research universities called for health care professionals and researchers to advocate for the end of deportations and restrictive immigration policies. Their insights appear in the journal Health Affairs. Two academic briefs were published on Nov. 6, both supporting an editorial published on Aug. 5.

“These articles bring together years of research that paint a very clear picture: immigration enforcement harms the health of immigrants and their communities,” said co-author Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young, an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health in the University of California, Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts.

Contrary to the Principles of Public Health

The researchers argue that deportation is a violent act and incompatible with the principles of public health. They describe an immigration system in which tens of thousands of people are held in unsafe prisons, often suffering from neglect and abuse. Families left behind face the loss of income and caregivers, leading to stress, anxiety and economic instability that spills across entire communities.

They contend that fear of raids and detention prevents many immigrants from seeking medical care or reporting crimes, weakening public safety. Deportation should be recognized as a public health threat.

In addition to Young, the authors are Research Assistant Professor Nicole Novak at the University of Iowa Department of Department of Community and Behavioral Health; Associate Professor Nolan Kline, MPH, CPH, at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine; Clinical Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Equity William D Lopez, MPH, at the University of Michigan School of Public Health; and Associate Professor of Health, Society and Behavior Alana LeBrón at the UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health and at the School of Social Sciences Chicano/Latino Studies.

The researchers support “community care” — support networks that provide emotional, legal and material aid during enforcement actions. Through community care, they said, solidarity, advocacy and protection become essential health interventions.

“As professionals committed to population health and the well-being of all communities,” the authors said, “there is an opening for us to push for a nation where immigrants are not targeted with violent arrest, deportation or removal.”

One of the briefs takes a step back and describes how three decades of exclusionary immigration policy have harmed immigrants and U.S.-born residents. Federal actions since the 1990s have shifted immigration matters from civil to criminal law, expanded detention and restricted access to public benefits.

Enforcement budgets have ballooned from $4 billion in 2000 to more than $25 billion in 2020, with another $170 billion approved in 2025, the authors say.

Fear Leads to Reduced Use of Health Care and Resources

Enforcement of restrictive immigration policies also undermines trust in health institutions, the researchers say. People fearful of deportation often avoid medical appointments, vaccinations, even reporting of domestic violence. This reduction of self-care can worsen heart disease, maternal health and mental illness.

The authors also present what works to protect health in the current environment. They share evidence that limiting local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration agents can reduce fear and improve community well-being. They also say expanding access to driver’s licenses and photo ID improves physical and mental health by reducing stress and the risk of police encounters.

Health care and other health-focused organizations can also make a difference. By strengthening privacy protections, avoiding unnecessary collection of immigration data, and partnering with legal aid groups, clinics and hospitals can build trust with immigrant patients.

Community networks play a parallel role. Rapid response hotlines, legal accompaniment programs, and immigrant bond funds provide direct aid and emotional support during detentions and raids. These networks turn collective anxiety into collective action and build the resilience essential to community health.

“Health care professionals have a long history of using their voices to influence policy,” the authors said. “They must now work to inform their representatives about the importance of divesting from deportation violence and investing in communities by adequately funding education, health care, infrastructure, and research.”

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Journal

Health Affairs

DOI

10.1377/hpb20251010.700451 

Method of Research

Commentary/editorial

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Population Health Costs of Exclusionary and Criminalizing Immigration Policies

Article Publication Date

6-Nov-2025