I am a family doctor who takes care of patients across their entire life span. 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-one percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in “all or most cases,” according to Pew Research, and 69 percent do not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned, a CNN/SSRS poll found.

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 have laws prepared to outlaw abortion as soon as possible once Roe is overturned. It is clear 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