Letter to the Editor by Emily Garrett, MD
To the Editor:
Abortion is healthcare. As an ob/gyn, I help usher women safely through the joys and sorrows of childbearing, including abortion care. Since the June Supreme Court decision, state legislators are free to dictate the medical care I and my colleagues across the nation provide, however misinformed or politically motivated they may be.
Women in conservative states are already feeling the impact, even when seeking care for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. At this time, no state explicitly restricts care for these conditions. However, their treatment often includes the exact same procedures and medications used to provide elective abortion. There are already many reports of pharmacies withholding medications for the treatment of miscarriage.
In Texas, any layperson may sue if they even suspect an illegal abortion. Physicians in some states may face extensive legal fees, loss of their medical license and even prison time. When doctors and hospitals are forced to weigh factors other than the safety of their patients, like the appearance of impropriety or financial risk, the patients suffer.
Conservative legislatures across the country have repeatedly proposed and sometimes passed bills with problematic and incorrect medical statements. For example, right wing candidates are touting abortion bans from “the moment of fertilization”. This phrasing puts the legality of IVF, IUD contraceptive devices and Plan B type morning after pills in jeopardy. Many politicians profess their disdain for “late term” or “partial birth” abortions. Both terms are purely political and have no place or meaning in actual abortion care.
A 2020 Ohio bill even proposed physicians should have to “reimplant” ectopic pregnancies - a literal scientific impossibility that left every ob/gyn I know either laughing or shaking their head in horror because the lawmaker had clearly not bothered to discuss this sweeping and life altering proposal with any doctor.
Another favorite talking point is the exception for “the life and health of the mother”. In all my years of medical training and practice I’ve never been taught about the mythical line that, when crossed, means there is an official threat to the patient’s life. How much bleeding is enough? How high the fever? How many seizures? What if they attempted suicide?
What about delayed cancer treatment? I’m still early in my career, but I’ve encountered every one of these tragic scenarios and many more.
A woman is 14 times more likely to die during childbirth than during an elective abortion. For many that number is much higher. How “dying” does she need to be? Which begs the question, who decides? Surely it shouldn’t be the politician hoping to score points by casually spouting medical nonsense, ignorant of the devastating real world consequences.
He doesn’t have to look into the eyes of the woman who narrowly survived her last delivery, the woman whose baby won’t ever leave the NICU, the woman whose children already go to bed hungry, the woman whose partner beats her senseless and tells her she doesn’t get a choice. That’s my job, apparently.
The science of medicine is far from exact. That’s especially true for the dynamic, wondrous, but sometimes perilous process of pregnancy and childbirth. While we’d like things to be black and white, the reality is innumerable shades of grey. Decisions surrounding pregnancy, pregnancy complications and pregnancy loss are complicated and deeply personal.
I sincerely hope the people of Iowa and nationwide can recognize this and vote accordingly.
Emily Garrett, MD
Everett, WA
