I’m addressing this letter to Sen. Dan McCay, who wants to call a special session of the Legislature in order to create a six-week ban on abortions.
Please listen, senator, we can’t keep doing this to women!
Sen. McKay, I’m sure you think you’re fighting a noble cause, but you turn a blind eye to how the unintended consequences of this ban hurt women. You assure yourself that there are exceptions for the life of the mother, but when the government intervenes to override a doctor’s judgment, the reality is that the woman suffers.
Do you know the risks some women take to have a baby? Diabetes, lupus, kidney disease, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, are just a few conditions that make pregnancy risky. So a woman at risk might be told she has a 50% chance or even a 90% chance of having complications that could end in her sterility, severe illness, or death.
Who decides the amount of risk she should take? The woman and her doctor, or the government?
And how sick does she have to be in order for her life to be made a priority?
Just ask Nicole Miller (“Idaho woman needing emergency abortion was flown to Utah,”
July 3), Idaho mother of two, who was flown to Utah while bleeding from a ruptured placenta — terrified, in pain, and grieving the loss of her much-wanted child. She had to have an abortion here because her doctor didn’t want to risk prosecution if he violated the six-week law in Idaho.
Sen. McCay, has this ever happened to you — or to a woman you love? Miller was one of the few brave women who went public with her pain, but most families won’t speak out about this very intimate, devastating grief. Women’s health care is complicated! Any pregnancy can go wrong and become life-threatening. A woman should have the right to risk a pregnancy and be assured that she will receive the best care possible to preserve her life and health.
I might also add, Idaho has lost many OB/GYN’s because of this ban, making prenatal care more difficult to find and all pregnancies more dangerous there. The same will happen here because this ban flies in the face of humane, best-practice medicine. It’s also a grave insult to women, and it is not pro-life.
Cindy Wright, Sandy
