I have a wife, daughters, granddaughters, sisters-in-law, daughters-in-law and many other women in my life. I value and respect them. I will be voting “NO” 8 August on Rep. Brian Stewart’s and his fellow Ohio Republicans attempt to cheat, change the rules and gut a November pro-choice amendment. Republicans also strive to take away your voice so that they can continue to craft gerrymandered districts without you, the voter, passing any amendments to limit their cheating. Ohio Republicans are cheaters. Yes, I said it and I stand by this statement. The Ohio Supreme Court has also said they are cheating. Said so seven times.
I have been harassed and called “baby killer” at several pro-choice petition events. The police on one occasion directed our harassers to leave us alone. In my experience, so many of those who call me “baby killer” are unwilling to listen to the facts, to consider the risks, risks to the point of death they are imposing on so many pregnant women, women who do not share their opinion or theology on abortion. I have been disputed on this Op-ed page in my statement of fact that Ohio’s 6 week abortion plan (currently on judicial hold) places women’s health and lives at risk.
Abortion is health care. Many, many disorders of pregnancy are life-threatening and are treated by termination of the pregnancy. Physicians in Ohio are threatened with a year in prison, a $20,000 fine, civil suits and disciplinary action by the State Medical Board if an anti-abortion ideologically driven District Attorney or civilian plaintiff retroactively files a complaint. Women suffer when physicians helping them are treated as criminals. I quote from the NPR article “Her miscarriage left her bleeding profusely. An Ohio ER sent her home to wait”. From the article “We’re in a moment of tremendous fear, and we’re working with doctors and hospitals who are not fans of liability…physicians or staff say ‘only if I think I am 100 % safe will I do necessary, potentially life-saving medical care.’ “The patient in this case survived, but not until her medical condition became extremely dangerous.
Abortion is health care. Ideologically or theologically driven Republican legislators, eager to wedge themselves between patients and their physicians do great harm to both. Cleveland Maternal-Fetal medicine specialist Tani Malhotra protests in the Ohio Capital Journal article “Ohio Docs say new abortion law has them working against oaths to do no harm—Doctors describe scenes of almost unimaginable anguish—and increased risks to women and girls who become pregnant”. Physician Malhotra laments “Lawmakers didn’t go into this blindly…physicians provided testimony. We called their offices. We sat with legislators to help educate them and tell them why this is bad policy. The American Medical Association and the College of Obstetrics and Gynecology tried to explain to them why this is bad law. They were educated. They knew exactly what theses consequences were going to be because we told them.” Abortion is health care. Health care decisions are between patients and their physicians.
Ideologically or theologically driven Republican legislators have no legitimate place in the exam room.
Abortion is health care. When physicians cannot provide care without fear of prosecution they leave and women and babies suffer. Bonner General Health hospital in Sandpoint , Idaho cited an adverse, abortion-restrictive climate for their inability to retain OB-GYN physicians. The hospital administration noted that “The Idaho legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care…consequences for Idaho physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.”
Abortion is health care. A recent joint report from the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Texas at Austin surveyed 50 physicians for first-hand reports of harm to women post the reversal of Roe. Maternal-Fetal medicine specialist and associate professor at Harvard Medical School Chloe Zera notes “This report confirms that our fears about abortion bans are valid…as someone who cares for patients who have high-risk pregnancies, I need to be able to provide care consistent with evidence-based guidelines. This research underscores the completely preventable harm that is now happening to our patients because of barriers to abortion care.”
Ohio’s Republican legislators, elected from safe gerrymandered districts, think they can practice medicine. They can’t. They don’t know anything about vaccines or climate science or education either. We court disaster when facts, science, legitimate experts are ignored while books and ideas are censored. Ohio Republicans cheat through gerrymandered districts. They have defied and ignored the Ohio Supreme Court seven times and now they want to ignore and silence you, the voter. Save Ohio women and Ohio democracy by voting “NO” 8 August.
