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I know a woman who decided to go forward with a tenuous pregnancy. Against medical advice, she continued on understanding full well that carrying her child to term could cost her life. I have known this woman since she, herself, was a child. She is a bit older than my own daughters. Yet, I call her friend these days. And make no mistake — she is a grown-ass woman completely capable of making her own healthcare decisions.
I want you to take a moment and imagine a scenario where the government intervened in her decision. I want you to imagine a scenario where the discussion between her and her physician has no bearing on the outcome of her pregnancy. I want you to imagine a scenario where her wishes about her body and her pregnancy are superseded by the will of lawmakers who have never met her. In this horrible scenario, regardless of medical knowledge or patient wishes — she was forced to terminate her pregnancy.
Because that is the other side of the coin. That is the part of the conversation about abortion everyone ignores. If the government can dictate medical care as though they were physicians, not politicians, no woman would be able to choose. Risky, potentially dangerous, and expensive pregnancies might be next on the women’s health chopping block because healthcare has been dictated to her by…
