Amy Clement, MD
Michelle Debbink, MD, PhD***
Kathryn Fay, MD**
Cara Heuser, MD, MSCI**
Jennifer Kaiser, MD, MSCI
Jhenette Lauder, MD
Marcela Smid, MD, MS, MA**
This piece reflects the personal views of the authors, not that of their places of work.
As doctors who provide and advocate for comprehensive reproductive health care in Utah, including abortion care and contraception care, we see every day how it’s too hard for too many people to get the basic health care they need in this country. Care that is equitable, just, and compassionate is appallingly scarce. On today’s anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are deeply troubled by the many ways in which political leaders in our state and around the country promote barriers to essential health care.
If Roe v. Wade falls, abortion would immediately become illegal in Utah and in nine other states. But the threat of Roe being overturned is not hypothetical; millions of Americans already live the day-to-day reality of being carefully and meticulously denied access to abortion care. More than a dozen cases on sexual and reproductive rights are one step away from being heard by the Supreme Court. We also face a laundry list of restrictions on abortion care intentionally designed to shame people seeking abortion care and providers of that care. In Utah, patients have to travel many miles on average to access abortion care because 97% of Utah counties, home to more than 60 percent of our population, have no clinics providing abortion care. One in four women will access abortion care over the course of her lifetime; what kind of health care is this if people are being displaced to get this safe, basic service? What’s more, nearly 90% of counties around the country also lack abortion providers.
“…what kind of health care is this if people are being displaced to get this safe, basic service?”
As physicians who partner with patients to provide all of the information they need to make individualized medical decisions, political restrictions are deeply disruptive. One of our patients, Jenni*, traveled six hours to us for abortion care, but arrived too soon before the 72-hour window, so she had to buy a hotel to stay the night in an unfamiliar city after scrambling to get childcare for the children who were at home. Other patients are forced to leave the state because we cannot provide them the care they need. Alma*, an 18-year-old who had never been to the gynecologist, went to Colorado because she wanted general anesthesia for her first trimester abortion, a form of anesthesia that Utah will not allow for the vast majority of people because of restrictions on in-hospital care. These Utahns had supportive doctors whose hands were tied by the intentional interference from legislators who do not understand or do not support the full spectrum of the pro-family services we provide.
Our political leadership makes it clear they have no intention of improving access for patients like Jenni or Alma. This fall, US Senators rushed to advance a Supreme Court nominee to a lifetime appointment amid a major public health crisis that has already resulted in over 400,000 American deaths, disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities. At a time when our nation is in crisis, when the Senate is struggling to pass legislation that would actually provide the needed relief to Americans during the pandemic, our elected leaders are continuing to push abortion care out of reach, making its legality less and less meaningful by the day. This harmful mentality extends to our highest court and its most recent addition of Justice Barrett.
We dream of a future where we can provide basic, safe, comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care to all of our patients in the community where they live at a cost they can afford.
Justice Barrett’s confirmation has already made it more difficult to safely access medication abortion, and the communities most impacted in Utah and nationwide will be the ones where care is already difficult to access — especially communities of color, people living on low incomes, and those in rural communities. Regardless of what our patients need, we believe in access and the sanctity of decisions made between patients and providers — free from government intrusion. Access to vital care should never be placed out of reach for thousands of Americans. On this anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we dream of a future where we can provide basic, safe, comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care to all of our patients in the community where they live at a cost they can afford. We call on political leaders in the new Congress and administration to join us in making decisions that realize this vision.
*Name and personal details changed
**Fellows with Physicians for Reproductive Health
***Former Board Member with Physicians for Reproductive Health
