She needed an abortion. Michigan's outdated laws cost her 5 weeks — and $10,000. | Opinion
When Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 3 last year, enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution, I felt incredible relief. However, as a physician who provides comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including pregnancy and abortion care, I knew my work as an advocate for my patients was far from over. That is why I am urging the Michigan Legislature to pass the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), which will repeal old anti-abortion laws designed to restrict patient access to care.
These laws were enacted under the guise of improving patient safety. The truth is that abortion care is extremely safe. What is actually dangerous are the laws restricting access that the RHA will repeal.
Recently, a physician who specializes in high-risk obstetrics referred a patient to me with heart failure. As soon as they discovered she was pregnant, her cardiologist referred her to the obstetrics specialist who estimated a 1 in 4 chance she would die if the pregnancy continued.
Not wanting to risk her life — or leave the young children she already had without a mother — she decided to have an abortion. By the time she finally got to me, she was 13 weeks pregnant. Due to her high-risk health status, we expedited her care and scheduled her appointment for just a couple of days later. However, there were barriers she didn’t expect.
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In Michigan, patients are legally required to physically print out a form at least 24 hours before their appointment, but she didn’t have access to a printer. This led to her appointment being rescheduled.
Between the time delay and her cardiac status, it was soon evident that she would need a higher level of care in a hospital setting. This meant that the costs would be much, much higher, over $10,000, and since Michigan state law prohibited her insurance from covering abortion care, she anticipated that she would have to incur significant medical debt.
I never expected I'd need an abortion. Michigan's outdated laws made me pay for it myself. | Opinion
In the end, she suffered a nearly five-week delay from when she was supposed to have the procedure to when it was finally completed. The delay was entirely unnecessary and entirely caused by the unconstitutional laws targeting abortion that are still in effect in Michigan: the 24-hour mandated delay in care, the required consent form, the restrictions on insurance coverage just to name a few.
Theoretically, all patients have a constitutional right to reproductive freedom, but until we pass the RHA and remove these cruel and unnecessary laws from our law books, it will instead remain a privilege only for those with the means to overcome these obstacles, and the right will remain out of reach for far too many. We need to stop siloing, criminalizing, and stigmatizing abortion care and treating it differently than all other health care.
Now is the time for the Legislature to put people ahead of politics and pass the Reproductive Health Act in full. Michiganders are counting on you.
Dr. Charita L. Roque is assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's outdated abortion laws impede healthcare. Repeal them.
