Roe v. Wade gave us a federal statute to ensure abortion access after viability when a threat to the health of the pregnant woman was at stake. The federal abortion ban took it away.

Does Barack Obama honestly believe that a small percentage of the already tiny percentage of women who undergo late term abortions, those who, under the advice of a skilled physician, decide that a D&X is the safest procedure for them, are somehow not broken enough to receive one?

Why do I find the Spanish clinics' broad interpretation of "serious mental health risks" ethically problematic when I have no problem with the hundreds of doctors throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia that are routinely breaking the law and providing safe first trimester abortions?

Physicians are full of questions about how the Supreme Court's ruling will affect them and their patients. This decision endangers women's health and makes it harder for physicians to provide the best possible care to women.

Originally from the east coast, Donna McNichol is the mother of two teenagers, regional director of Planned Parenthood Shasta Diablo, and spends her weekends watching her daughters play soccer.

 

A couple of months into my first pregnancy, I feared that something may be wrong. I started bleeding. While some days the bleeding was lighter than other days, I bled every day. We kept hoping that I would stop and my pregnancy would continue normally. Since we did not know the cause of my bleeding, my doctors did not know how to stop it. My health was at risk.

Special SeriesI was very concerned about being able to continue the pregnancy and the possibility of giving birth to a baby that would die. My family and loved ones were also concerned about my health. The hardest part was not knowing what to do. There was not a right or wrong answer.

My husband and I, after consulting with my family, my doctor and my loved ones, decided to end the pregnancy in order to protect my health. I was only halfway into my pregnancy, approximately 20 weeks. I never once considered asking my elected officials what I should do. It was so very personal.