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Opinion
The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
News / Opinion / Letters to the Editor

Letter: Abortion care is health care

By Patty Barnard, Camas
Published: October 26, 2024, 6:00am

My first pregnancy ended in heartbreak. When I was 12 weeks along, an ultrasound proved my husband’s and my worst fear: Our baby had died.

Because I never passed the fetus, I needed a D&C (dilation & curettage) to avoid developing sepsis. A D&C is the exact procedure as obtaining an abortion, so I was “lucky” this happened when Roe v. Wade was in effect and that I live in a state that protects abortion access. Roughly 20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and right now, women in abortion-restricted states are having their health, their fertility and their lives threatened because doctors are naturally afraid of the legal consequences (including imprisonment) in providing D&Cs.

I’m encouraging you to vote for pro-choice candidates because of my story; because you, lawmakers and I can never know how desperate a pregnant woman is and why she’d want to terminate her pregnancy; because lawmakers can never write laws for every pregnancy complication or condition; and because of the approximate 20 percent of pregnant women who’ll need the kind of health care I got. (I actually miscarried twice and needed a D&C twice.)

Put simply, abortion care is health care.

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