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Doctors in red states are complaining that abortion laws dealing with emergency situations that put a woman's life in harm's way are so vaguely written as to be unintelligible. Many states have only one sentence in making reference to a woman's life being danger such as
"...to prevent “death or substantial risk of death,” or “permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ”; and Idaho permits abortion “to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” On Thursday, Oklahoma legislators approved a bill that would ban nearly all abortions starting from fertilization, with an exception to save the life of the mother “in a medical emergency.”
Such language is meaningless to physicians when thousands of different situations, some life-threatening in the immediacy, some in the near-term and others further down the road. Physicians are terrified of innocently running afoul of such vague and meaningless phraseology and ending up losing their medical license and worse being prosecuted for murder.
“The emergency is preventing that now. But such a decision won’t be legally recognized in Texas", says Nichelle Haynes, a perinatal psychiatrist from the Reproductive Psychiatry Clinic of Austin.
Typical situation that could arise. Bear in mind there are literally thousands of such situations facing caregivers:
"A pharmacy recently refused to fill a prescription for methotrexate, which treats an ectopic pregnancy by stopping the growth of the fertilized egg.
The pregnancy would never have resulted in the birth of a child, but was a serious risk to the mother. The embryo had attached in the patient’s fallopian tube which, if left untreated, would rupture and cause extensive internal bleeding. Emergency surgery could save the woman’s life if she were able to get to an emergency room fast enough but, if not, she would die from the blood loss.
“We told [the pharmacist] it’s a life-of-the-mother situation,” said Crawford. But they believed their employer wouldn’t permit the prescription. “They felt they would get in trouble.”
"...to prevent “death or substantial risk of death,” or “permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ”; and Idaho permits abortion “to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” On Thursday, Oklahoma legislators approved a bill that would ban nearly all abortions starting from fertilization, with an exception to save the life of the mother “in a medical emergency.”
Such language is meaningless to physicians when thousands of different situations, some life-threatening in the immediacy, some in the near-term and others further down the road. Physicians are terrified of innocently running afoul of such vague and meaningless phraseology and ending up losing their medical license and worse being prosecuted for murder.
“The emergency is preventing that now. But such a decision won’t be legally recognized in Texas", says Nichelle Haynes, a perinatal psychiatrist from the Reproductive Psychiatry Clinic of Austin.
Typical situation that could arise. Bear in mind there are literally thousands of such situations facing caregivers:
"A pharmacy recently refused to fill a prescription for methotrexate, which treats an ectopic pregnancy by stopping the growth of the fertilized egg.
The pregnancy would never have resulted in the birth of a child, but was a serious risk to the mother. The embryo had attached in the patient’s fallopian tube which, if left untreated, would rupture and cause extensive internal bleeding. Emergency surgery could save the woman’s life if she were able to get to an emergency room fast enough but, if not, she would die from the blood loss.
“We told [the pharmacist] it’s a life-of-the-mother situation,” said Crawford. But they believed their employer wouldn’t permit the prescription. “They felt they would get in trouble.”
Vague 'medical emergency' exceptions in abortion laws leave pregnant people in danger, doctors say
Medical emergency exceptions are so vaguely defined in abortion laws, and with such harsh penalties for providers, physicians say they will be effectively unable to provide proper care.
www.statnews.com