Source: Cardinal & Pine
Over 1,000 medical professionals underscored the stark realities of abortion restrictions in an open letter to lawmakers.
Reporting by Cardinal & Pine delivered the message pretty clearly. “Any legislator voting to further restrict access to abortion care here would also ensure more mothers die during childbirth, shove the state’s healthcare system into chaos, and, in future pregnancy-related emergencies, force doctors to check with lawyers before giving life-saving treatment.”
Currently, abortion remains safe and legal in North Carolina, however, state Republicans have alluded to pushing forth restrictions to an outright ban of the crucial healthcare option.
“As North Carolina healthcare professionals deeply committed to patients’ safety and well-being, we adamantly oppose any new abortion restrictions,” the letter states.
While state Republican lawmakers have yet to agree on an abortion measure this year, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, state Republican leader Tim Moore has expressed support for the controversial “heartbeat bill,” and Phil Berger advocated for a ban around 13 weeks of pregnancy.
“Since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June, our colleagues in neighboring states with abortion bans have been dealing with chaos and confusion,” stated Dr. Erica Pettigrew, a family medicine physician with UNC Health, during a news conference introducing the letter.
“So learning that some politicians in our state legislature want to create the same dangerous situation is alarming to those of us actually practicing direct patient care,” Pettigrew added. “Doctors do not want these laws.”
Other doctors underscored how abortion bans may impact North Carolinians with pregnancy complications, stating, that the ban would create a chilling effect that would threaten their patients’ lives.
“When we ban abortion at any point, we cause fear for clinicians that take us away from our fiduciary responsibility to do what is best for the patient in front of us,” stated Dr. Alison Stuebe, a maternal-fetal medicine physician who cares for high-risk pregnancies. “We have to navigate a call to legal and a discussion about ‘am I doing the right thing for the patient and if I do the right thing for the patient am I going to lose my medical license.”
Read more at Cardinal & Pine
