Abortion ban would harm health care in state
I AM A FAMILY physician, proud to be born and raised in New Mexico. It is my honor and privilege to care for New Mexico’s families across their lifespan(s). I support our families through many stages of their life and with varied health needs, from wellchild exams to inpatient care, prenatal care to opiate dependence, hypertension to obstetrics care,
Speaking from my experience as a doctor in New Mexico, I can echo what health care professionals across the state have agreed: When abortion is safe and legal, all of our families benefit . ...
There are a myriad reasons why people choose to have abortions. Each of these decisions is unique, and each situation is different. Whether it is legal or not, people always have and always will seek to terminate pregnancies. My job as a medical provider is not to judge my patients, but rather to help them understand their options and to keep them safe. It is vital that our New Mexican families facing these decisions are treated with dignity and are granted access to the medical care they need, without government interference.
Studies have shown that states that place legal restrictions on abortion have worse maternal health indicators, especially among poor women and women of color who already experience disadvantages when seeking heath care. Here in New Mexico, we face a dire shortage of medical providers. We cannot afford to further restrict our patients’ access to medical care. We cannot afford to further endanger the health of New Mexicans, especially women . ...
To borrow a framework from the Reproductive Justice movement: our families deserve the right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children and parent the children they have in safe and sustainable communities. These are the values we hold as medical providers. These are the values we hold as New Mexicans. According to a recent study conducted by Young Women United/Strong Families, 77% of rural New Mexicans agreed that they could hold their own moral views about abortion and still trust a woman and her family to make decisions about abortion for themselves; this included 79% of Catholics.
Outdated and dangerously restrictive laws like the one still on the books in New Mexico take complex, personal decisions away from New Mexico women and their families, further restricting their access to safe care . ... DR. ELISA GUTIERREZ Santa Fe