Should the Human Life Protection Act be amended?
Amending Tennessee abortion law is essential for health of mothers
I became a doctor and an obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) because I wanted to help people heal and live longer, fuller lives. I am very fortunate that over my career I don’t just heal—i help bring new life into this world by helping women become mothers and families grow. It is a great joy to witness.
Unfortunately, this experience has also exposed me to the reality of the many risks that can arise in any pregnancy. A medical crisis impacting the life of the mother can emerge at any moment over the course of her pregnancy. In these situations, I must use and act upon good medical judgement to also safeguard the life of the mother. It would be medical negligence to put the viable life of the mother at risk for a non-viable fetus.
The most common cause of a medical procedure that is performed to save the life of the mother is the removal of an ectopic or tubal pregnancy, a condition in which the fetus cannot survive. Unfortunately, there are other serious situations that can arise such as when the mother’s uterus becomes infected resulting in a septic abortion which is a significant threat to the mother’s life.
Doctors and patients deserve clarity in the law
Under the Human Life Protection Act passed in 2019, all abortions, even those performed to save the life of a mother, are illegal in Tennessee. This creates a chilling effect by ignoring the realities of medical practice and needed emergency medical actions that must take place to save mothers and families. Any legislation must acknowledge and protect the life-saving medical decisions and actions that I’m required to take when faced with such rare but real complications associated with pregnancy. And the law must not only protect but require such life-saving medical care.
It never gets easier to tell a woman she has an ectopic pregnancy, or her baby has a condition that is incompatible with life outside the womb and that emergency medical care is needed. But this is the reality. And a mother who survives a septic pregnancy may still one day give life to a beautiful child, but a dead mother who could have be saved serves no good purpose.
I stand with physicians and providers across Tennessee simply asking for clarity in the law so that I can provide emergency medical care to save the life of a mother without fear of reprisal or risk of criminal prosecution. And thankfully, there’s a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly that recognizes this issue. We can preserve the original intent of the Human Life Protection Action and make it clear that pregnancy terminations done to protect the life of the mother are not criminal. We can do both.
Saving a mother’s life should not be a criminal act
As a licensed medical professional, I have taken the Hippocratic oath—the golden rule for doctors—to do no harm to my patients.
Medical practice can oftentimes be extraordinarily challenging.
We should not put undue stress of criminal prosecution providers who are only seeking to save the life of a mother when a pregnancy is not viable.
This is harmful for physicians, harmful for mothers, and harmful for Tennesseans.
We can, and must, do better.
Dr. Aric Giddens is a board-certified OB/GYN practicing in Bartlett, Germantown and Memphis. He is the president of the Memphis Obstetrics & Gynecological Association.