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As OB-GYN physicians in Minnesota, we are relieved and hopeful to see elected officials and candidates at every level working to preserve access to reproductive health care.
We know, however, that it can be difficult for citizens and lawmakers alike who do not have direct experience with high-risk pregnancy care to understand and articulate the nuances of the sometimes complicated conversation surrounding abortion later in pregnancy.
When we hear repeated statements on this topic filled with misconstrued characterizations designed to shock and manipulate voters, we, as experts in the field, recognize that our voices are needed to explain why abortion access cannot be restricted by stage of pregnancy and why the argument for gestational age limits is dangerous to patients.
Tragic diagnoses can arise during pregnancy beyond the many arbitrary gestational age cutoffs that have been proposed for abortion care across the country. These may include fatal fetal genetic conditions; severe fetal anomalies that are not compatible with life; or life-threatening maternal medical conditions. A fetus may be developing without sufficient brain tissue or kidneys, for instance, complications most members of the general public do not even realize are possible as they’ve luckily never been exposed to these heartbreaking circumstances. A healthy pregnancy proceeding with excitement and love can be quickly devastated by lethal or life-limiting developments.
When these diagnoses are made, a team of specialists is often involved to inform families about the implications and options for management. Receiving such information is forever life-altering for a family, and considerable thought and emotion is focused on making deeply personal choices. In many of these situations, staying pregnant is emotionally impossible or poses ongoing significant risks to the pregnant person’s health, life or future fertility.
One possible plan a patient may choose with informed consent is an induction of labor or C-section knowing the baby may be born alive without reasonable chance of survival for a significant length of time. A patient may decide upon this option in order to hold their baby for whatever precious moments they may be alive rather than anxiously expecting a stillbirth that would deprive them of that chance. Depending on the complete circumstances and shared decision-making, palliative care may be provided to the baby.
Attempts to impose strict gestational age limits on abortion or require futile resuscitative efforts do not take these tragic and unique circumstances into consideration, and they prevent provision of compassionate, individualized care aligned with a patient’s needs and goals.
Doctors have to abide by standards of individual ethics, the Hippocratic Oath, ethics boards and the law. Delivering a healthy, normal pregnancy and sitting by to allow the baby to die would be infanticide — murder — and is a completely fabricated problem.
No patient is requesting this, and no physician is facilitating this.
Some anti-abortion politicians talk about abortion care in a misinformed manner that insinuates widespread infanticide in order to scare the public into believing abortion is a malicious act rather than a component of safe, evidence-based health care. Claiming that healthy babies are being murdered is not only wildly false but hurtful and dangerous for patients and doctors who have to experience and navigate these difficult situations.
Pregnant patients are the ones best equipped to make the right decisions for their bodies, their pregnancies and their families, and they need to be trusted to do so without political intrusion.
As physicians, we should be able to have open, honest conversations with our patients to optimally inform their decision-making without this type of interference and hostility toward our work. Please keep this in mind on Election Day and every day.
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