Aesop’s Fables have been a tool to shape the morals and minds of children for generations, possibly none more than “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” When a shepherd boy, bored of keeping his flock, calls for aid from the village when no wolf threatens his safety, he was left with no one willing to believe him when the wolf finally came to pasture. While the allegorical shepherd boy was meant to warn us of the dangers of making false claims, the abortion lobby apparently was raised without this same moral guidance.

Their newest cry: restrictions on abortion in pro-life states are fueling the OB-GYN shortage. 

Leading up to the Dobbs decision, frenzied further by the leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court in May 2022, the abortion lobby told all who would listen of the dystopia that would result from the overturning of Roe. Women would be forced to return to coat hanger abortions in the dark back alleys. They cried contraception would be wiped from the shelves and the Court would not stop at stripping away “reproductive rights,” but rights previously upheld under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses would be the next to fall. 

While we rightfully should be concerned with the safety of women and basic human rights — which abortion is unequivocally not, there has yet to be a wolf when the world comes to the aid of abortion advocates. Since Dobbs, the abortion lobby has been making a similar cry to prey on the empathetic American, purporting that legal restrictions on abortion are driving physicians, particularly OB-GYNS, from pro-life states. 

Abortion advocates wish to obfuscate the very real issue of maternal health deserts in rural parts of our nation, ignoring the confounding variables to blame shift this gap in care onto abortion policy. Recent attention has been on the story of Bonner General Health in Sandpoint, Idaho where the hospital announced ending its obstetrical care due to the “legal and political climate” of the state. However, the hospital’s press release on the matter does not cite obstetrician staffing as a contributing factor, instead noting the loss of pediatrician coverage for neonatal and perinatal care as well as changing demographics resulting in a “nationwide decrease in births.”

Idaho has been more broadly a talking point for abortion advocates as the state has lost nearly a third of their obstetricians since 2022. One study of Idaho obstetricians found the majority who left the practice in 2024 retired, moved from rural to urban practice within the state, shifted their practice to gynecology only, or moved to another part of the state to practice. Even if the others who moved to a less abortion restrictive state to practice did so merely due to the pro-life laws in Idaho, that only highlights the motivation for their practice: placing their ability to perform an abortion over the needs of women facing maternal care deserts. 

Correlation does not equal causation, and, in reality, Idaho is simply an outlier. Another study that noted the increase of physician concern about providing “reproductive healthcare” also found the number of OB-GYNs was increasing nationally, opposing the narrative abortion advocates wish to spin. States without access to abortion or those where some restrictions are in place actually are increasing their OB-GYN care at rates higher than those who have enshrined abortion protections following Dobbs. 

Trends show dying rural healthcare economies, spurred by socioeconomically disparate populations lacking access to health insurance, are far more often the culprit for these deserts. Given the data, it would be intellectually dishonest to attribute increasing maternal health deserts to abortion law. Instead, we must work to ensure equal access to healthcare by closing the gap for the uninsured and establishing new federally qualified health centers equipped to provide comprehensive obstetric care. 

The abortion lobby is crying wolf, and now, we must learn from the villagers. We must not trust the cries of those proven to mislead the proverbial village and take up watch for wolves ourselves. While restrictions on abortion have been proven a sheep in wolves clothing, abortion advocates must now face a wolf of their own creation: the permanent loss of public trust. If you cry “wolf” enough times, you might just summon one. 

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Gavin Oxley is the Media Relations Manager for Americans United for Life. Follow him on X @realgavinoxley.