A doctor’s view of women’s health

A doctor's view of women's health

Editor:

I would like to comment on Wendy Warburton's column regarding women's health.

Warburton is representing women in the state of Montana and unfortunately is not well-informed. I have contacted her in the past and offered to meet and help her become informed on certain medical facts, but she has not extended an invitation.

She would like to declare conception as a "person" and give the conceptus constitutional rights. She states life begins at conception. However many conceptions are not viable, meaning the conception does not have the ability to develop and result in a live birth.

This may include tubal pregnancies and miscarriages, which require prompt medical intervention for a woman to keep her reproductive system healthy and able to produce a future healthy pregnancy. We can treat tubal pregnancies with a chemotherapy drug that dissolves the pregnancy in the tube and saves the fallopian tube avoiding the need for a surgical procedure.

However, Warburton wants the government to determine when and if a treatment can be used. Delays in treatment, while the government decides if this is an individual with constitutional rights, will increase the number of deaths and lead to loss of future fertility.

Warburton states she is against abortion, however, in her vote to allow a pharmacist to not dispense birth control pills because it was against his religion, she may have increased the number of abortions in our state. It is well-documented that in areas where women have access to contraception the abortion rate declines.

It has been estimated that 50 percent to 70 percent of pregnancies in the state of Montana are unplanned. A women who plans to have two children will spend on average five years bearing children, the remainder of her 40 years of fertility she will be preventing pregnancy. If Warburton is truly against abortion, she would be fighting with all her might for women's access to contraception.

This pharmacist states the pill can cause abortion. The pill does not cause abortion. The pill prevents conception. Neither the pill, IUD or morning after pill prevent the implantation of fertilized eggs, they prevent fertilization, conception.

The state of Montana fortunately has upheld that it is a woman's right to decide the timing of her pregnancy and make decisions on her health with her health care provider, an expert on health and medical issues, rather than a politician.

Dr. Suzanne R. Swietnicki, MD

Havre

Editor:

I would like to comment on Wendy Warburton's column regarding women's health.

Warburton is representing women in the state of Montana and unfortunately is not well-informed. I have contacted her in the past and offered to meet and help her become informed on certain medical facts, but she has not extended an invitation.

She would like to declare conception as a "person" and give the conceptus constitutional rights. She states life begins at conception. However many conceptions are not viable, meaning the conception does not have the ability to develop and result in a live birth.

This may include tubal pregnancies and miscarriages, which require prompt medical intervention for a woman to keep her reproductive system healthy and able to produce a future healthy pregnancy. We can treat tubal pregnancies with a chemotherapy drug that dissolves the pregnancy in the tube and saves the fallopian tube avoiding the need for a surgical procedure.

However, Warburton wants the government to determine when and if a treatment can be used. Delays in treatment, while the government decides if this is an individual with constitutional rights, will increase the number of deaths and lead to loss of future fertility.

Warburton states she is against abortion, however, in her vote to allow a pharmacist to not dispense birth control pills because it was against his religion, she may have increased the number of abortions in our state. It is well-documented that in areas where women have access to contraception the abortion rate declines.

It has been estimated that 50 percent to 70 percent of pregnancies in the state of Montana are unplanned. A women who plans to have two children will spend on average five years bearing children, the remainder of her 40 years of fertility she will be preventing pregnancy. If Warburton is truly against abortion, she would be fighting with all her might for women's access to contraception.

This pharmacist states the pill can cause abortion. The pill does not cause abortion. The pill prevents conception. Neither the pill, IUD or morning after pill prevent the implantation of fertilized eggs, they prevent fertilization, conception.

The state of Montana fortunately has upheld that it is a woman's right to decide the timing of her pregnancy and make decisions on her health with her health care provider, an expert on health and medical issues, rather than a politician.

Dr. Suzanne R. Swietnicki, MD

Havre