As a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, I have dedicated my life to making women and families healthier and safer. This commitment to my practice and patients makes it all the more disheartening to see the overwhelming presence of misinformation and ill-conceived legislation surrounding abortion – a medical procedure that is proven to be 99 percent safe.

Every year I see hundreds of patients for a range of health care needs, and over my career I have delivered hundreds of babies. I am chair of the Maine Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a graduate of the University of Vermont Medical School. Both science and safety are paramount to my practice.

Lawmakers need to understand that for health care providers who make abortion available to patients in need, the medical care we provide is just one part of the work we do. We support our patients. We trust our patients.

A woman who is thinking about ending her pregnancy, or is just unsure about what to do or where to go, receives accurate and unbiased information about her options – parenting, adoption and abortion – and receives support throughout the process.

Despite efforts to restrict access, abortion is a legal procedure – and it is largely safe because it is legal. It is a procedure subject to rigorous research and constantly evolving best practices and is part of a regular medical practice for many women’s health care providers.

Abortion providers adhere to strict medical standards and guidelines that are based on the recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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Technology in the medical field has evolved significantly since abortion first became legal. Abortion today is safely provided in doctors’ offices and outpatient health centers and is similar in risk to other gynecological procedures that take place in doctors’ offices every day.

The simple truth is that access to abortion makes women safer. Research has shown that in states where abortion is highly restrictive, women will choose desperate, dangerous and potentially life-threatening means to end an unwanted pregnancy. This can include self-inflicted trauma, consumption of chemicals, self-medication, or resorting to a risky abortion done by someone who is unqualified and untrained.

It’s unfortunate that politicians in Maine are looking to legislate their way into exam rooms, claiming to understand what is best for a patient over sound science, best practices and the recommendations of doctors like me. This is hubris that should concern those in the medical profession.

In the coming days, legislators will consider L.D. 1312, a bill that would give sweeping authority to the Department of Health and Human Services to draft “major substantive rules” to regulate abortion providers without any real parameters.

Physicians who provide abortion services support oversight and regulations that protect patient safety, but L.D. 1312 would not do that. This is just an attempt to restrict access to safe, legal abortion, through the creation of rules and regulations just like legislatures have done in Texas, Alabama and Mississippi – over the objections of medical experts.

Maine already provides oversight of all abortion providers, regardless of where they practice, via a combination of existing laws and physician licensure and reporting, which empowers the state to investigate any complaints.

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The reality is that measures like L.D. 1312 do not protect women’s health, and as we have already seen in other states, can in fact put women at risk.

If the Maine Legislature wants to advance women’s health, it should pass measures that will expand access to reproductive health care, which will provide women with the tools they need to avoid an unintended pregnancy. Thanks in large part to improved access to contraception and the state’s family planning system, since Roe v. Wade, Maine’s abortion rate has plummeted to historic lows.

These proposed restrictions are smoke and mirrors in a politically motivated attempt to make abortion illegal. Doing so would force doctors and health care providers to stop providing sometimes-lifesaving care to thousands of patients across the country and in Maine, and create a less safe environment for women and families.

It’s time for health care providers, doctors and medical professionals to speak up and lay out the facts before lawmakers in state capitals overreach even further into our field.


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