HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS DECLARATION
Arizona’s healthcare professionals don’t always agree on the issue of abortion, but we all agree on the profound responsibility we have to put the health and safety of our patients first.
With abortion now legal in Arizona up to 15 weeks, we are perplexed and deeply concerned about a political initiative likely to be on the November ballot that creates a real danger to pregnant women seeking abortions.
We may be Pro-Life, we may be Pro-Choice, and we may take a position without one of those labels. We are divided on the issue of abortion, but we are united in this: The health and safety of all patients must be our top priority.
Therefore, the undersigned stand opposed to the Arizona Abortion Access Act and further declare that:
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Making something legal does not make it safe.
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When considering any legislation that expands abortion, we must ask whether it also increases risks to women?
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The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to expand abortion without boundaries, without safety regulations, and without notifying women of the risks.
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Legal abortion clinics can be just as dangerous as illegal clinics - the amendment removes commonsense safety regulations for facilities performing abortions.
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It removes the requirement that a medical doctor be involved and - most importantly - allows anyone with a license issued by almost any healthcare agency to legally perform abortions, prescribe the abortion pill, or sign off on third trimester abortions. [See LIST HERE]
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These changes will actively endanger women as abortions, especially those done in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, come with the risk of serious complications including hemorrhage, perforated uterus or bowel, sepsis, greater risk of premature delivery in later pregnancies, possible infertility and prolonged grief.
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Furthermore, taking the abortion pill without proper medical oversight can be dangerous for the woman, even deadly if she has an undetected ectopic pregnancy or lives remote from a facility where she can receive emergency surgery or a blood transfusion.
Finally, being a constitutional change, the discretion for the Legislature to enact measures ensuring the safety of medical procedures in the future is abridged.
