“With the current law in place, I will tell you, I wake up fearful of my pregnancy and what it would mean for my children, my husband and my parents if something happened to me and the doctor cannot perform lifesaving measures,” she told her fellow lawmakers last February, her voice faltering as tears threatened.
Rehfeldt was a stroke survivor and her pregnancy put her at high risk for blood clots and heart issues that could kill her. The state’s ban made abortion a felony unless it was “necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female.” If Rehfeldt developed complications, doctors told her, the law didn’t make clear how close to death she needed to be before they could act.
“When can a doctor intervene? Do I need to have my brain so oxygen-deprived to the point that I am nonfunctional?” she asked the room.
I know it’s not the case, but I wish politicians could just place scientific facts and agree on political directions like allowing abortion.
Instead, politicians (have to, in a sense) bring in people with trauma and let them speak in front of their enemies, everybody knowing that even this won’t convince Republican lawmakers. Even the people with trauma, exposed and risking bullying from the general public, know it’s an astronomically long shot, and still re-live the trauma.
It’s one of the saddest aspects of US Congress.