On Thursday night, PBS Amanpour and Company guest host Bianna Golodryga welcomed President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Planes Emily Wales to blame pro-lifers for their own falsehoods about various states’ new pro-life laws.
Wales followed immediately a Texas woman, who shared her story about being denied medical care after a miscarriage. But instead of blaming the doctor for not being able to read, Golodryga simply asked her, “How do you respond to that?”
After describing the story as “devastating,” Wales took aim at other states, “You know, before we lost access to care in Oklahoma. Since Texas’ six-week ban on abortion was in place for several months, it actually allowed us to provide care to many, if not all of the people who were coming from Texas. Roe fell. And we heard from patients again and again who said, ‘I talked to my provider who said they would love for me to get care locally, but they are scared, or they don’t understand the law, and I had to cross state lines.’”
Wales claimed that this was also true for women in Missouri, Arkansas and other states. Golodryga agreed with Wales.
It is easy to see the emotional trauma it causes for these women, and families like Marlena. As we know, Roe was overturned and unintended results are what ensue. The problem is that women may want or need to see their doctors to get a DNC. This applies to miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. With this ruling, there are many other issues that will be brought to your attention. Discuss what’s happening on the ground and how these numbers are a result of the ruling.
Oklahoma’s law says in plain, simple English that the a procedure is not an abortion if done to “remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion”—in other words, a miscarriage— or to “remove an ectopic pregnancy.” Arkansas has the exact same language, while Missouri’s definition of an abortion cannot be honestly be interpreted to mean miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.
Still, Wales insisted confusion remains, causing Golodryga to ask, “Can I get you to respond to what the president of Texas Right to Life said about this issue? And he said ‘I have seen reports of doctors being confused. But that is a failure of our medical associations to provide clear guidance.’”
Before actually getting to Wales’s response, Golodryga blamed the lawmakers, as if explicitly saying treatments for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are not abortions wasn’t clear enough, “What is your reaction to that sort of, you know, not pitting the blame on the legislators who are writing these laws, but on the doctors who are really there, you know, providing these services and clearly, not knowing exactly what they can and can’t do legally?”
Wales was happy to blame the lawmakers, charging them with making laws about things they do not understand and that insisting the fears “are real.” The fears may be real, but it isn’t the fault of the laws.
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This transcript is for the show on July 21, 2009.
PBS Amanpour and Company
7/21/2022
11.10 PM ET
BIANNA GOLODRYGA We are so grateful for your presence. I want you to first react to Marlena’s words. Her emotional end made it so difficult to say good-bye. She has been telling her story for years. Because of the importance to her story, she felt it important for people to hear about the impacts these new laws had on women like herself. What can you do to respond?
EMILY WALES (Yes) That story is absolutely devastating. It shouldn’t be so in modern societies that patients can receive safe care but are refused because they fear liability or are convicted of felony in certain states.
Before we lost Oklahoma access, there was actually Oklahoma health care. Due to a Texas six-week ban on abortions that had been in effect for several months, our Texas care team was actually providing services to many, many Texas citizens who were crossing state boundaries. Roe fell. And we heard from patients again and again who said, “I talked to my provider who said they would love for me to get care locally, but they are scared, or they don’t understand the law, and I had to cross state lines.”
Now, we see that the crisis is growing. Oklahomans are now without access to local care. Arkansas residents and Missourians are now forced to flee the state for care. This is incredibly remarkable because so many people face this daily.
GOLODRYGA : You can see how difficult it can be for these women and their families to speak out, such as Marlena. We’ve talked about the unexpected consequences that Roe was overturned. The problem is that women may want or need to see their doctors to get a DNC. This applies to miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. With this ruling, there are many other issues that will be brought to your attention.
Discuss what’s happening on the ground, as well as the unintended consequences of this ruling.
WALES: We are overwhelmed by the amount of confusion we see in our states. Patients are coming to us every single day with questions about abortion. Patients are still calling asking for Little Rock. Are you able to travel to Oklahoma City? Let’s be clear, the rights that you have now are not available to you. It’s going to take you out of the state.
We also have situations like Marlena’s at the local level, where providers and partner organizations are asking us if we believe care is legal or if they think it will be illegal to provide critical care. One of the Kansas City hospital systems temporarily stopped offering emergency contraception due to uncertainty about whether it was in violation of the trigger ban. This ban took effect immediately. Roe fell. Although we’ve argued and explained that contraception can be legalized, people still fear the consequences.
GOLODRYGA (Well, that’s understandable) because the House had to codify contraception rights just moments ago for Americans. This is because of all these confusions and questions now following this ruling.
Would you be able to reply to the President of Texas Right to Life about this topic? And he said “I have seen reports of doctors being confused. But that is a failure of our medical associations to provide clear guidance.”
What is your reaction to that sort of, you know, not pitting the blame on the legislators who are writing these laws, but on the doctors who are really there, you know, providing these services and clearly, not knowing exactly what they can and can’t do legally?
WALES: This is the problem. Legislators are trying regulate an area they do not know much about. Missouri has seen this before. Missouri legislators tried to prohibit certain contraception types from Medicaid programs previously due to their inability understand the system. At the end of it all, providers’ fear is quite real and easily understood.
There are two options: I have someone here that needs critical care. But I need to review a statute. Or, if it doesn’t, I can face imprisonment and a felony charge. Providers are looking for guidance and clarification. It is the health system’s responsibility to manage itself. However, the government intervened between patients and providers. This is why we are facing this problem. They aren’t fears by providers; they are actual.
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