How the End of Roe Would Change Prenatal Care

Pregnancy, in this age of modern medicine, comes with a series of routinely recommended prenatal tests: At 11 weeks, a blood draw and an ultrasound to check for conditions such as Down syndrome. At 15 weeks, another blood test, for anomalies such as spina bifida. At 18 to 22, an ultrasound anatomy scan of the baby’s heart, brain, lungs, bones, stomach, fingers, and toes. This is when many parents learn if they’re expecting a boy or girl—but the more pressing medical reason is to look for anatomical defects, including severe ones such as missing kidneys or missing parts of the brain and skull.

With Roe v. Wade in place in America, women undergoing prenatal tests have typically had the legal right to end a pregnancy based on the information they learn. But abortion restrictions in certain states—by gestational age or by fetal anomaly—have already started limiting that choice. And if the Supreme Court overturns Roe, as seems likely, it will be further curtailed in some states. Routine parts of prenatal care could start to look quite different in...