Penna Dexter

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision restores the regulation of abortion to the states where it belongs. The abortion industry is pushing back with scare tactics as evidenced at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). In testimony before the HELP Committee, Kristyn Brandi, chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health, tried to convince senators that banning abortion would deprive women with ectopic pregnancies of lifesaving care. Ectopic pregnancy is any pregnancy that occurs outside the uterine cavity. In most such pregnancies, the embryo implants in a fallopian tube. Some ectopic pregnancies resolve on their own. As Family Research Council’s Ben Johnson explains in The Washington Stand, ectopic pregnancy “is always fatal for the child and can prove deadly to the mother if not caught early enough.” An early ectopic pregnancy without unstable bleeding is most often treated with medication which stops cell growth and dissolves existing cells. If this fails to end the pregnancy, or if the situation is diagnosed later, surgery is required to remove the fetus, hopefully before the fallopian tube ruptures. None of the procedures used to end ectopic pregnancies are classified as abortions. Many state laws restricting abortion, including those passed in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, explicitly state this fact. But Dr. Brandi sought to muddy the waters, telling the senators at the HELP committee hearing, “We have heard people question whether bans on abortion will impact care like ectopic pregnancy management…or if miscarriage management will be allowed.” This is disingenuous. In his Washington Stand piece, Ben Johnson points out that the abortion industry, including doctors like Kristyn Brandi, is all about protecting the right for women of all states to get medication abortions. Increasingly, these medication (or chemical) abortions are prescribed via telemedicine — that means there’s no physical exam, no ultrasound study. Prompt ultrasound evaluation is key in diagnosing ectopic pregnancy. Abortion pills don’t work to stop ectopic pregnancies and — yes — women will die.