OB/GYN: Government shutdown is harming patients

Independent Newsmedia

As a board-certified OB/GYN, clinical professor, author, and the proud founder and CEO of a family planning practice in Phoenix, I understand that timely, comprehensive care is often the difference between life and death.

Black women and families have historically been most affected by adverse health outcomes in this country; however, discrimination and lack of access to necessary health care impacts everyone.

My goal as a physician is to provide fully integrated women’s health and sexual health services for our diverse community, including abortion care and gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender and nonbinary adults.

I see daily the devastating, layered impact that Congressional Republicans and their policies are having on my vulnerable patients.

I believe Republican lawmakers are holding the government hostage to promote an extremely unpopular and dangerous agenda, pushing policies that would gut access to health care, including gender-affirming care, maternity and reproductive care, raise costs and force vital clinics across the country to close their doors.

The families I serve — who are already struggling with soaring costs — now face a national threat that undermines their basic economic security and their ability to stay healthy.

Instead of focusing on protecting our health care and reopening the government, Republicans appear hellbent on eliminating access to medication abortion, even in states where it is legally protected.

Lawmakers in Congress are gambling with the lives of their constituents and putting politics over people.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker Mike Johnson and Arizona’s leaders must immediately reopen the government and approve a budget that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of their constituents and Americans nationwide.

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