As an ob/gyn I am confronted daily with the complexities of women’s healthcaremedical, emotional, financial.
Under a President Trump it would only get worse, and more dangerous.
Surely, then, an assault on choice is just another pompous claim, like a wall.
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Make no mistake about it: Donald Trump is an anti-abortion candidate.
What he says now is summarized for public consumption in aletterhe wrote to pro-life leaders dated September 2016.
His first four goals are:
This is a very anti-choice agenda.
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Lets take it point by point.
Onlate-term abortions:Signing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act into law will essentially stop abortions at 20 weeks.
In addition to harming women seeking abortions for personal reasons, the Act would put many more at risk.
Trust me, Im a doctor and I dont know.
What if a zealous district attorney thinks you made the wrong call?
Malpractice insurance doesnt cover criminal charges.
Waiting for a woman to be at deaths door is bad medicine.
Making doctors afraid to practice medicine: also bad.
This is a blueprint for maternal deaths.
An anti-choice group who has never delivered medical care is going to provide contraceptive services?
Right, and I have a bridge to sell you, too.
The loss of publicly funded family planning services will be devastating.
The researchers can’t connect the dots directlybut surely it’s no coincidence.
More that than 400,000 of those would have been unintended births and 300,000 would have been abortions.
That means Medicaidwon’t cover most abortions.
In fact, the SBA List advances the lie that IUDs and emergency contraceptionareabortion.
A key Trump advisor on domestic policy is John Mashburn, who is strongly anti-choice.
And don’t forget that Donald Trump choseMike Penceas his Vice Presidential running mate.
Pences office received thousands of protest calls and messages via social media.
The goal is illegal abortion, but thats not all well get.
(And, no, insurance wont cover the diaphragm or the fitting.)
Publicly funded centers will only be too happy to tell you that sex is for procreation.
As an ob/gyn this vision of the future frightens me.
And it should frighten you, too.
Jennifer Gunter, M.D., is a board certified ob/gyn based in San Francisco.
