Doctor’s perspective: Vote “No” on abortion amendment Aug. 2 | Commentary

As a physician, I took for granted a woman’s right to choose. Now Kansans may lose that right.

I practiced many years in Wichita as a family physician. One of the most rewarding parts of my practice was obstetrics. I was glad when women who received a positive pregnancy test result were happy. However, some obviously were not. In those situations, I would counsel the woman about her options: to continue the pregnancy and keep the child; to continue the pregnancy and plan an adoption; or to end the pregnancy. I emphasized that she should take the time to carefully consider her options, and that I would support her decision.

As her doctor it was not appropriate for me to make that decision for her, nor to hinder her decision by excluding options. A pillar of medical ethics is patient autonomy. Physicians should give honest and complete information to patients to fulfill that responsibility.

I never practiced medicine without having legal abortion services available. However, I had conversations with doctors who practiced when abortion was illegal. I heard of women who came to the hospital after illegal abortions with severe uterine infections that became life-threatening. Some women died.

I was fortunate to refer my patients for safe and legal abortions. I had extreme confidence in the care they received, and yes, I took that for granted. I think that many physicians did. But we were silent in our support. We saw that speaking publicly could lead to personal and professional harassment. This was very evident in Wichita as we watched Dr. George Tiller threatened for years and ultimately murdered for his work. But it was easier to quietly appreciate those physicians and their staffs who were willing to step up for the rights of women seeking abortions.

In 2019 the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights protects every person’s right to personal autonomy. The Legislature has placed the “Value Them Both” Amendment on the August 2 ballot; passage of this measure would clear the path for lawmakers to pursue a complete ban on abortion like Missouri and Oklahoma have done. There is no guarantee that any exceptions would be allowed.

Banning abortion access is not the desire of the majority of Kansans. The 2021 Kansas Speaks Survey sponsored by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs included questions about abortion. Sixty-two percent of Kansans agreed that women are in a better position than politicians to make their own choices about whether to get an abortion. The Legislature repeatedly has shown a willingness to override the wishes of the majority of Kansans. I have no doubt that they would do the same to women’s reproductive rights.

Earlier this month a coalition of health care professionals announced their support for the amendment. I do not doubt the sincerity of their beliefs. But I suspect that physicians and other health care professionals have varied opinions about the issue of abortion, just as many of the respondents in the Kansas Speaks Survey. One of the survey statements explored whether respondents had personal conflicts about abortion, seeing both sides of the issue. Forty percent of respondents agreed. If asked, I would have been one of them. Yet, as a physician, I still ultimately respect each woman’s right to make her own decision.

Kansas is at a crossroads. Kansans will never find agreement based on our personal beliefs about abortion.

But the ultimate question we must address when voting in the August election is: who should make this decision? Is it the pregnant woman with advice from her family, physician, or pastor? Or is it politicians influenced by their own religious beliefs?

This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 3:22 PM.