Ohio women’s rights threatened if Mississippi wins case
As an OB/GYN, I care for my patients’ health overtime, be it screening for cervical cancer, helping evaluate fertility or ensuring a pregnancy remains healthy for both the pregnant person and the fetus.
This week, I’ll be monitoring the U.S. Supreme Court case regarding Mississippi’s abortion law – a case that threatens to overturn Roe v. Wade. This case could threaten the well-being, health and even the lives of the patients I treat every day.
We are trained to treat abortion as a normal, and often critical, part of medical care. We have a duty of care for our patients. Sometimes that duty includes abortion, and there are a variety of reasons when this can happen.
It may be to protect a pregnant patient’s immediate health when a dangerous pregnancy complication occurs. During miscarriages, pregnant people can develop infections or sepsis. These conditions can threaten their very lives without an abortion.
Long-term financial, emotional or health-related problems may also lead to abortion. When patients are forced into a decision to carry a pregnancy based on the law, that can also negatively impact their health for years or decades to come.
These are some of the many risks my patients face if the Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has upheld a person’s fundamental right to an abortion for decades.
Though some states have or could enact laws to protect that right, Ohio does not, and already has laws that prohibit or restrict access to abortions. It also has potential restrictions that would come into play if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Such restrictive laws would limit the ability of doctors like myself to be able to provide the patientcentered care we’ve been trained to give – the care our patients trust us to give and deserve to have. Our Hippocratic oath states that we need to have a relationship based on trust, and that trust includes going over all options for any medical condition, including abortion when it is an option.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned and Ohio prohibits abortions, people who can get pregnant should know that physicians everywhere will be working hard to ensure they can still access abortion safely.
Before Roe v. Wade became the law of the land in 1973, we didn’t have access to safe abortion pills like we do now. We must ensure that those patients wishing to end a pregnancy can access a pill for a self-managed abortion or visit a health care provider, so that they can still have a safe abortion.
With the current legal landscape, it will be extremely difficult for both doctors and patients to be able to secure this needed health care. And some will face more difficulty – and more suffering – than others. Patients of color, in rural areas, and/or with lower incomes will almost certainly have a harder time being able to access an abortion before it’s too late.
When abortion is harder to access, everything is harder, including time off, finding transportation and getting money to cover expenses, all of which can be insurmountable for those who are poor or live in rural areas.
It can make life more dangerous for these populations, including people of color, who face much higher maternal mortality rates. Being forced to carry a pregnancy threatens some people much more than others.
I’ll continue to put pressure on our federal and state elected officials to prioritize reproductive health care and reduce the health disparities that make pregnancy more difficult and dangerous for certain populations. I’ll keep on providing the best medical advice and care to my patients, knowing that abortion is a necessary and normal part of that care.
Governmental interference in women’s health hurts everyone, not just the woman.
Dr. Anita Somani is an obstetrician-gynecologist with 29 years of experience practicing in Greater Columbus. She is a past president of the Columbus Medical Association, a member of the Committee to Protect Healthcare and co-chair of the Physicians Action Network.