Physician warns about the Roe v Wade dangerous impact on women

Echo opinion letter published the Los Angeles Times (scroll down).

"We are entering an era not just of unsafe abortions but of the widespread criminalization of pregnancy", Jia Tolentino in The New Yorker.

To the editor: In 1960, I was a 24-year-old intern at L.A. County hospital in Boyle Heights. I chose this hospital because interns there got to do many essential medical procedures.

One of my first rotations was on the infected abortion ward. Most of my patients had very high fevers; some battled potentially fatal septic shock. Many were screaming in pain and anguish. Most were women of color.

These women were seriously infected by their own hand with the aid of a coat hanger, knitting needle or toxic substance like drain cleaner or by an illegal abortionist. At the time, every large city had an infected abortion unit.

Studies of women who carry unwanted pregnancies to term show a high incidence of maternal depression, poor or no prenatal care, greater use of alcohol and illicit drugs, and less likelihood of breast feeding. Children born to these mothers have more psychiatric problems throughout their lives.

When Roe vs. Wade is repealed and abortions are banned in many states, there will again be hospital beds with dying women, and many more disturbed women and children in America. Codify into law the freedom provided by Roe vs. Wade. It is urgent for the Supreme Court's wrong minded decision to be permanently reversed so reproductive freedom is protected.

Edward Kaufman, Laguna Beach, California