Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com
I am a family doctor who takes care of patients across their entire lifespan. While I do take care of muscle sprains, diabetes and heart disease, I just as often treat reproductive health concerns, including pregnancies, planned and unplanned. Because of this, I am disturbed and angered by the constant attacks on reproductive rights across the country, most recently the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicating the court is prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade.
This statement continues to show how out of touch our officials, elected or not, are. Sixty percent of Americans support abortion in the first trimester, and 69 percent do not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. As a physician, I am terrified for communities across the country, as 58 percent of female-identifying individuals live in states hostile to reproductive rights, and 26 states are certain or likely to outlaw abortion as soon as possible once Roe v. Wade is overturned, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
It is clear to me that these restrictive laws have nothing to do with actually improving health care, or else they would simultaneously be improving access to maternal health care, birth control and child care. Instead, all they represent are the agendas of out of touch, ignorant and hostile politicians who have no place in our exam rooms. Let me be clear, though — abortion is still legal. This is just a draft opinion. We need more people to step up, demand change from their elected officials and let them know we are the pro-choice majority.
Brendan Prast
Portland