MY TURN: Vote yes on November Prop 1 initiative
This Nov. 3, Idaho voters will vote on Proposition 1, the initiative to roll back Idaho’s ban on maternal pregnancy care. Voting yes on this initiative is about trusting women. It’s all about believing that women can and will make sound decisions using their hearts, brains, beliefs, values and circumstances. It’s giving grace to women and their partners/families/doctors while they navigate this precious — and sometimes complicated — decision to bring or not bring a child into the world.
Being pregnant is a woman’s domain. She alone will experience the hormonal changes, complications, pain and pure pleasure of giving birth. Sometimes, birth is not the end result. There are issues with ectopic pregnancies, fetal genetic abnormalities, births by Caesarian, miscarriages, and private personal circumstances that come into play in family planning. Every woman’s circumstances are so very different during her reproductive years.
Let us agree that, when making life-changing choices, governments should not be trusted more than the woman, in consultation with her partner, her family, and her doctors, doulas and/or midwives. No one wants to terminate a pregnancy, but still it happens. Writing fair, practical and helpful legislation to cover each and every unique pregnancy is complicated and cannot address all circumstances that might arise.
Therefore, we must trust women to seek the best advice concerning family planning, contraception, prenatal care, birth, postpartum care and pediatric care. Doctors and maternity caregivers are trained to oversee every woman’s unique path during this reproductive period.
Some will choose not to have children, some will choose adoption, some will experience the pain of a miscarriage and/or infertility, some will have complications where the decision to discontinue a pregnancy is necessary, and some will give birth and take on the lifetime responsibility, joy, and challenges of parenting.
Opponents of Prop 1 want us to believe that the present legislation from Boise does not limit a woman’s ability to seek the medical care best suited to her life and her pregnancy. They want us to believe that the ban presently in place protects Idaho values and parents’ rights. Since when have Idahoans given up their rights to privacy and to keeping government intrusions to a minimum? Ronald Reagan once said, “Well, I think it's about time that we placed trust in ourselves and in each other.” We do not need a government nanny state.
The present ban has not stopped abortions; it has only stopped access to sound, safe and timely medical care for women. OB/GYN doctors have fled Idaho for fear they might be arrested, tried, fined and incarcerated for simply providing the vital care a woman expects and deserves from her healthcare providers.
Pediatricians too often follow OB/GYN physicians to other locations with more supportive and reasonable laws for postnatal pediatric care. These healthcare providers are trained to follow best practices when caring for their patients. Decisions should not be made out of fear of punishment.
Right now, Boundary County and Bonner County are considered dead zones for pregnancy specialists and birth facilities. Too many women have to travel long distances to a hospital to give birth and/or to deal with pregnancy complications. Voting yes for Prop 1 will show that Idahoans trust healthcare providers to do their jobs: supporting and caring for women.
Opponents want us to believe that Prop 1 has a singular focus: abortion. Not so. Pregnancies and maternity care are so much more complicated than that one option.
A yes vote will bring back quality maternal care — based on compassion and sound medical practices — to Idaho women during their reproductive years. Prop 1 extends confidence in Idaho women to know what the best trajectory is for their lives and for the lives of their loved ones. Voting YES will once again extend the sense of dignity and freedom that women deserve.
In November, let’s put our trust in women and vote yes for Prop 1.
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Jan Studer is a Coeur d'Alene resident.