Note to editors: Downloadable audio and video files are available here for use in your coverage. Watch the briefing on YouTube here.
Summary: A new bill in the North Carolina General Assembly that would criminalize abortion in most cases after 12 weeks was created without public input or adequate consultation from medical experts and will endanger women’s lives unnecessarily, three Duke experts said Thursday.
The bill, which has already passed the N.C. House and appears headed for approval in the N.C. Senate, will also create a byzantine maze of administrative hurdles for patients to navigate, they said. Quotes from the briefing is available below for use in your coverage.
Dr. Beverly Gray
Quotes:
“Limiting care at 12 weeks, that’s an arbitrary cutoff line. … It impacts care for patients who need care after that period of time,” says Dr. Beverly Gray, division chief of women’s community and population health and an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“There’s so many things that are unclear in this legislation as it’s written, it will make it very challenging for health care providers to interpret it, to understand who will merit care after 12 weeks, who won’t.”
“There are many scenarios where patients need care after 12 weeks. Some of them receive devastating news of a birth defect. Or, at that point in pregnancy sometimes patients have medical complications. Being pregnant is very much like running a marathon. It’s hard on your body, especially if you have underlying medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease. When you get to that point in pregnancy, some women get sick. But it’s unclear in this legislation who is sick enough for us to care for. That makes it very challenging for us to do our jobs effectively.”
Bio:
Dr. Beverly Gray is division chief of women’s community and population health and an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Gray is also founder of the Duke Reproductive Health Equity and Advocacy Mobilization team.
For additional comment, contact Sarah Avery: sarah.avery@duke.edu.
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Dr. Jonas Swartz:
Quotes:
“This law does not use evidence-based medicine, doesn’t allow us to practice evidence-based medicine and will restrict care to the point it will be really difficult for us to care for our patients,” said Dr. Jonas Swartz, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and a researcher in reproductive health equity issues.
Bio:
Dr. Jonas Swartz is an obstetrician and gynecologist, an assistant professor and director of family planning in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a researcher in reproductive health equity issues.
For additional comment, contact Sarah Avery: sarah.avery@duke.edu.
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