I see stories like this one almost every day now, and it makes me wonder what are these White male Republican politicians, and the women who subordinate themselves to them, thinking. OB/GYN physicians, as this story about Idaho describes, are leaving Republican controlled Red states in droves. This has become one of the defining trends shaping the culture of the United States. It has reached a point where it is dangerous for a woman to be pregnant in a Republican controlled Red state, like Idaho, Texas, Mississippi, or Missouri because it is highly likely that woman may not be able to get the treatment she needs if she suddenly faces a problem in her pregnancy. According to Karyn Morse, MD, OB-GYN at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles it is estimated that as many as 26 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage and up to 10 percent are clinically recognized early on by an ultrasound exam as potentially dangerous.
Dr Kylie Cooper at her new home in Minnesota after leaving her job as an OB-GYN in Idaho this year. ‘Not being able to do your job … it just breaks my heart.’ Credit: Abbie Parr / AP
Most mornings Dr Stacy Seyb is awake by 6am. He begins his day with meetings before a packed schedule seeing 18-20 patients going through high-risk pregnancies in Boise, Idaho. He has had a long career of treating people with all sorts of obstetrical complications so he’s used to stress. But it’s never been like this.
Now that federal protections for abortion have been gone for more than a year and Idaho is approaching the anniversary of its near-total abortion ban, the state has seen an exodus of OB-GYNs and other medical providers, leaving Seyb as one of the last remaining maternal-fetal medicine physicians in his state.
He estimates his patient load has already increased 20-30% since last year, and there’s a constant fear gnawing at him and his colleagues.
After growing up along Kansas’s border with Colorado, Seyb knew he wanted to […]
This is the law of natural consequences. It’s not pretty, but its effective. It will be interesting to see how much pain the citizens of these states have to endure before the legislators modify their behavior.
This is the law of natural consequences. It’s not pretty, but its effective. It will be interesting to see how much pain the citizens of these states have to endure before the legislators modify their behavior.