Dangerous to women
This restrictive abortion bill is hazardous to women’s health
Pennsylvania lawmakers who are pushing legislation that would give our state one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country claim they’re doing it because they’re concerned about women’s health. That’s hard to believe considering they continue to ignore patients’ voices and refuse to listen to the doctors who treat them.
Senate Bill 3, sponsored by state Sen. Michele Brooks, R-Mercer County, would amend the Abortion Control Act to outlaw abortions starting at 20 weeks from a woman’s last normal menstrual period and criminalize dilation and evacuation (D&E), which is the safest option for abortion in the second trimester and the only surgical method of second trimester abortion.
For obstetrician-gynecologists like us who provide comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion care, patient safety is our No. 1 concern. Our patients demand, and deserve, the best possible care. Yet, with Senate Bill 3, our ability to fully treat our patients and offer the medical procedure that is safest for them is severely restricted, if not outright outlawed. In no other field of medicine would this be acceptable.
But then again, this measure isn’t about health care — it is part of a partisan political agenda.
That’s what makes this so dangerous. A woman making the personal and often complex decision about abortion later in pregnancy needs access to all safe and legal options without government interference. Every pregnancy is different, and these decisions can only be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor.
Nearly 99 percent of abortions in Pennsylvania in 2016 occurred before 20 weeks. While this bill would affect a small proportion of women seeking abortion in our state, the ability to make these personal decisions without political interference is essential.
By banning abortions later in pregnancy and banning a medically accepted and safe method of abortion, politicians are interfering with doctors’ ability to provide the care that’s right for their patients and actually could increase the risk to a woman who needs to end a pregnancy.
We know that politicians aren’t medical experts. But we would expect them to seek medical advice when they’re debating a bill like this. That never happened. That’s why many physicians, us included, traveled to Harrisburg in March and April to meet with legislators and tell them about the dangers of this legislation.
Make no mistake about it. Whether this bill becomes law will depend largely on how southwestern Pennsylvania Democrats vote, especially our representatives. Republicans hold large majorities in the House and Senate and both are moving quickly to get this legislation to Gov. Tom Wolf, who already has promised to veto it. That veto cannot be sustained unless members of his own party in the House stand with him.
Senate Bill 3 is under consideration by the House. A substantively identical measure (House Bill 1948) passed the House last year. State Rep. Kathy Rapp, RWarren County, already has reintroduced her bill in the current session. Both bills ignore the voices of patients, advocates and medical professionals who have spoken out against them.
They also ignore legal precedent. Bills far less restrictive than Ms. Brooks’ and Ms. Rapp’s proposals have already been deemed unconstitutional. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a decision permanently blocking Arizona’s ban on abortion at 20 weeks, and courts in Idaho and Georgia recently blocked similar bans.
Furthermore, restricting doctors’ ability to choose the medical procedure that is safest for their patients has not been found to be legal anywhere.
Around the country, and now in Pennsylvania, laws aiming to limit access to safe, legal abortion are being proposed in the name of protecting women’s health and safety. That’s simply not the case. Bills like this endanger women, strip them of their reproductive rights and put in place measures that are intrusive and unconstitutional.