Evidence-based care for early pregnancy is well established and includes strong evidence for safe abortion as part of the reproductive health care spectrum. Legal interference to provision of safe, accessible abortion diverts the time, attention, and skills of clinicians from other pressing health concerns, especially improving maternal health and birth equity. The rate of maternal mortality in the US, already unacceptably high, surged from 20.1 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2019 to 23.8 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2020; the increases were significantly higher for Black and Hispanic people. Maternal deaths (during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management) are anticipated to increase as evolving abortion restriction laws undermine physicians’ ethical and professional mandate to prioritize patients’ well-being.