Both pro-life and pro-abortion states filled almost all of their OB/GYN residency slots, The College Fix found. The finding challenges the narrative that pro-life states would have trouble attracting applicants due to protections for preborn babies.
The Fix analyzed data from the National Resident Matching Program, which pairs medical school graduates with healthcare providers for their residency training.
The Fix looked at the 18 states defined as “most restrictive” by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute and compared it to the 32 other states. A “most restrictive” designation means the state generally protects preborn babies from being killed in the womb, so it is “restrictive” to a woman getting an abortion.
The data show 99.13 percent of the total spots across the “most restrictive” states were filled, compared to 99.31 percent in the remaining states.
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Texas, a pro-life state, filled 144 of its 146 slots, for example. California, a pro-abortion state, filled 139 of its 141 slots, meaning both states achieved nearly 99 percent of their targets. Notably, Texas attracted more OB/GYN residents than pro-abortion California.
Other pro-life states filled 100 percent of their slots, including Florida (92 of 92), Nebraska (10 of 10), and Georgia (36 of 36).
That is in contrast to claims by medical groups like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which generally oppose any limits on the direct and intentional killing of preborn babies.
In February 2025, the group released a position statement titled “Abortion Training and Education in a Post-Dobbs Landscape.”
The group said “disparities in abortion training and provision will continue to worsen” due to “state-specific restrictions and limitations on abortion training opportunities.”
Laws protecting human life will “lead to shifts in where individuals choose to attend medical school, residency, and fellowship, and where they will eventually practice medicine,” the group stated.
The pro-abortion medical group also found in a 2023 survey that “[o]ver half (58.1%) of respondents said they are unlikely to apply to a residency program located in a state with abortion restrictions.”
The group declined to comment on the latest residency matching data, telling the The Fix it had a staff shortage that prevented it from responding further.
The Center for Reproductive Rights did not directly address questions about the residency matching data, when asked by The Fix.
Instead, the group referenced a news release, which said “one in five [people] planning to have children within the next decade has moved to another state—or knows someone that has—due to abortion restrictions.”
The pro-abortion group also references a claim on its website which says women are “three times more likely to leave the workforce and four times more likely to live in poverty” when they “don’t have access to abortion care.”
Pro-life expert says ‘most OB/GYNs don’t perform elective abortions‘
However pro-life medical experts said the findings made sense.
Ingrid Skop, told The Fix that she “wasn’t surprised to learn that nearly all spots were filled in both pro-life and pro-abortion states.” Dr. Skop is the vice president and director of medical affairs for Charlotte Lozier Institute, an organization which focuses on pro-life research and policy.
“OB/GYN is a competitive specialty to enter, and most ob/gyns don’t perform elective abortions,” Dr. Skop told The Fix. “These laws shouldn’t deter OB/GYNs from practicing in pro-life states.”
Dr. Skop also told The Fix that it is important to remember that “there are many factors that a physician considers when selecting a residency program, including quality of training, lifestyle factors, medical malpractice reform, support of the physician community, schools, and leisure activities.”
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists also said the data show little difference between states with varying abortion policies. Dr. Hector Chapa told The Fix that since OB/GYN residency match rates remain “around 99%,” rates in restrictive states are “not statistically different” from those in more permissive states.
Dr. Chapa also said while applicant numbers may vary, “what is more important is the number of residency slots that are actually filled.”
He noted that factors such as geography, cost of living, and proximity to support systems can influence where applicants choose to apply, but said the 2026 matching data reflect strong demand overall.
He said “86.8% of applicants [are] still applying to programs in restrictive states,” and that applicant preference signals showed no meaningful difference based on abortion policy when accounting for program characteristics.
LifeNews Note: College Fix contributor William Buckley is a student at the University of Utah where he is studying Political Science and Journalism. He is the journalism coordinator for the College Republicans at the University of Utah, in addition to being a member of the university’s TPUSA and YAF chapters. William also enjoys the outdoors, social dancing, and performing classical music. This column originally appeared at The College Fix.
