Untenable Decisions Face Red State Doctors

Inside the Internal Debates of a Hospital Abortion Committee

By Kavitha Surana, ProPublica, Feb. 26, 2024

When politicians impose themselves between doctors and patients, problems for both inevitably arise, as this article about medical practice in Tennessee illustrates.

Whether you are pro- or anti-abortion, one thing both sides should be able to agree on are clearly written laws that respect the skill of doctors and trust them to make the best decisions for their patients. Currently, this is not the case, and the result is what you will read about in the linked article. w/c

Effect of Abortion Law on the Disadvantaged

The Year After a Denied Abortion

By Stacy Kranitz, special to ProPublica, and Kavitha Surana, February 15, 2024

Restrictive abortion laws have the greatest negative effect on disadvantaged women and their families. Not only can they not travel to another state for care, they also often find it challenging to navigate state and federal aid services, not to mention jobs and brushes with the law.

The linked story follows a couple for a year after the woman gave birth to a dangerous pregnancy she did not want. You might find yourself critical of the woman because of her bad choices that have led to a very precarious life. But be aware that she and millions in similar situations will have babies that often they don’t want, can’t afford, and are incapable of bringing up. And then it falls to society to deal with children throughout their lives.

Is this really what we want as a society? w/c

Consequence of Ill Considered, Draconian Anti-Abortion Laws: Tennessee Case

Doctors Warned Her Pregnancy Could Kill Her. Then Tennessee Outlawed Abortion.

By Kavitha Surana, photography by Stacy Kranitz, special to ProPublica
March 14, 2023

When state legislatures decide that the political concerns of a minority should be the law of the state, problems can, and most often do, arise. And this is no truer than when laws put women’s health at risk.

Tennessee has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the nation. It pretty much outlaws all abortions, even when the life of the mother is at stake. Women of means can leave Tennessee to seek care elsewhere. Poor women, of which there are many in that state, cannot. When a pregnancy health crisis arises, these women have no recourse but to put their lives and those of their families at risk.

So, what does that look like in real human terms? This ProPublica article shows you how it affects the pregnant woman, her family, and doctors who want to help but her can’t without violating an ill considered, badly written, draconian law. After reading this, you’ll be glad you do not live in Tennessee, or any other state with similar trigger laws in effect. w/c

For Some Anti-Abortionists, Restrictive Laws Are

“We Need to Defend This Law”: Inside an Anti-Abortion Meeting With Tennessee’s GOP Lawmakers

Kavitha Surana, ProPublica, in co-publication with WPLN (NPR) Nashville

Tennessee has the strictest anti-abortion law in the nation currently. Yet, for some anti-abortion advocates, it isn’t strict enough. According to their thinking, once the dust settles, once the abortion issue begins to fade into the background, once this happens then it may be time to expand to prohibitions on IVF, abortion pills, and employer assisted travel for abortions.

In other words, even when anti-abortionist have won their fight to control the lives of women, new ways to exercise control remain.

In this ProPublica and Nashville NPR article, Kavitha Surana and her team go inside an anti-abortion meeting with Tennessee state legislators and Tennessee Right to Life and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. It reveals the strategies these groups employ and the arguments they use to support strict anti-abortion laws, as well as where, how, and when to carry their fight to the next level. The article also explores the various medical complications presented for Tennessee doctors and women.

You’ll find the article worth your time, especially if you are pro-choice, or if you are like the majority of Americans who while not personally in favor of abortion understand that it is and should remain a personal decision made by women faced with an unwanted pregnancy. w/c