Dougherty Arts Center
Health Care Is Not Political
RECEIVED Mon., Jan. 23, 2017
Dear Editor,
In 1973, the Supreme Court guaranteed our constitutional right to safe, legal abortion. And 44 years later, I am one of the majority in this country that supports protecting this right. Unfortunately, we face extreme anti-abortion measures in the Texas Legislature, and as a country we are preparing for a hostile anti-abortion administration. Attacks on our rights are imminent, which is why we must declare once and for all that abortion is an essential component of health care, and it should be treated as such.
Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures, and laws prohibiting abortion and targeting the doctors that perform them have far-reaching implications, affecting more than just the besieged abortion clinic on the corner.
When Texas regulates abortion providers or makes laws that prohibit family planning funds from going to any doctor that would dare provide their patients information about abortion, patients are harmed. Families are harmed.
Contraception fails. The best plans do not always work out. And when that happens, abortion is an essential part of health care. Abortion allows women to plan and space their pregnancies, which improves their physical, psychological, and economic well-being. Evidence shows that people who are able to obtain an abortion are better able to maintain a positive future outlook and achieve their aspirational life plans. Conversely, evidence clearly demonstrates that if a pregnant person seeks an abortion and access to that care is delayed or denied, they are at greater risk of experiencing adverse health and economic outcomes.
Abortion should be driven by evidence-based standards developed and supported by medical professionals, not political opinion. Abortion is health care. It is lifesaving. And when it is needed, it must be accessible. Texas’ anti-abortion policies are harming us and they must be halted and overturned.
In 1973, the Supreme Court guaranteed our constitutional right to safe, legal abortion. And 44 years later, I am one of the majority in this country that supports protecting this right. Unfortunately, we face extreme anti-abortion measures in the Texas Legislature, and as a country we are preparing for a hostile anti-abortion administration. Attacks on our rights are imminent, which is why we must declare once and for all that abortion is an essential component of health care, and it should be treated as such.
Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures, and laws prohibiting abortion and targeting the doctors that perform them have far-reaching implications, affecting more than just the besieged abortion clinic on the corner.
When Texas regulates abortion providers or makes laws that prohibit family planning funds from going to any doctor that would dare provide their patients information about abortion, patients are harmed. Families are harmed.
Contraception fails. The best plans do not always work out. And when that happens, abortion is an essential part of health care. Abortion allows women to plan and space their pregnancies, which improves their physical, psychological, and economic well-being. Evidence shows that people who are able to obtain an abortion are better able to maintain a positive future outlook and achieve their aspirational life plans. Conversely, evidence clearly demonstrates that if a pregnant person seeks an abortion and access to that care is delayed or denied, they are at greater risk of experiencing adverse health and economic outcomes.
Abortion should be driven by evidence-based standards developed and supported by medical professionals, not political opinion. Abortion is health care. It is lifesaving. And when it is needed, it must be accessible. Texas’ anti-abortion policies are harming us and they must be halted and overturned.
Taylor Borgfeldt
