Opinion: I’m an OBGYN. Here’s why I’m supporting a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights in Nevada.

Last month marked the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and with it, almost 50 years of federal protections for the right to abortion. 

In two short years, we have seen the cruelty, confusion, pain, and heartbreak that has been unleashed across the country. Anti-abortion politicians moved quickly to pass extreme abortion bans, many that don’t even include exceptions for rape or incest, that put doctors in neighboring states like Idaho, Utah, and Arizona in an impossible position, and our patients in imminent danger. 

As an OB-GYN, it is my responsibility to provide my patients with the highest quality care, accurate information about their health and treatment options, and ensure that they are able to make their own health care decisions. 

Every pregnancy is different. Complications can arise at any time, jeopardizing the patient’s health, future fertility, and life. Too often I see patients who are having pregnancy complications that put their life at risk. I had a patient who was 18 weeks pregnant and came in bleeding heavily. The symptoms presented as a partial placental abruption which occurs when a part of the placenta separates from the uterus. We gave her several blood transfusions but despite this, her blood count continued to be dangerously low. The treatment was clear: we had to provide a medically necessary abortion to save this patient’s life. 

These decisions are heart-breaking, and not made lightly. But my patient is alive today because of the state she was receiving care in. If we had been in a state like Idaho, where an extreme abortion ban has threatened patients’ access to emergency abortion care, I could not guarantee the outcome would have been the same. 

This is a physician’s worst nightmare. And it’s not just Idaho. OB-GYNs in other states with abortion bans are being forced to confront whether they should continue their practices at all or face criminal prosecution. 

Abortion bans are harmful and dangerous. I’m so grateful to states like Nevada where I know providers like me are trusted to do our jobs without interference from politicians who do not have medical backgrounds or training. However, the attacks aren’t over.

It’s why I support the Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom ballot initiative to keep decisions about abortion where they belong: with patients, their doctors, and their loved ones – not politicians.

As I reflect on everything that has happened in the past two years since the Dobbs decision, I am more committed than ever to making sure Nevadans will never have to worry about whether they will need to flee the state for care that is part of the full spectrum of reproductive health care, which itself can be life-saving in more ways than one. And I know that the people of Nevada want that for themselves too.