The Physician Is In — And Desires You To Vote: How Physicians Are Saving Democrats After Roe

GYN from Columbus, Ohio, never thought she'd end up in politics.

She decided to run for office, however, after the Supreme Court recently overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, and she is now hoping to become the first OB-GYN elected to the Ohio General Assembly.

Prior to this election cycle, Dr. Benjamin Abella, an emergency room physician from Philadelphia, wasn't very politically active. He is now supporting two Democrats who are running for important seats because he is concerned about the state of abortion rights in Pennsylvania.

Additionally, Houston, Texas-based family practitioner Dr. Bich-May Nguyen has long been involved in progressive causes related to healthcare. But this year, she's noticed a sharp rise in the number of doctors who want to participate after seeing her example.

The six-week abortion ban that has been made a state law in Somani's state has deeply concerned her. "There is this perception that medicine and politics don't mix, but the reality is that so much health care policy is determined by politics and who's in office," she said.

Doctors have emerged as some of the loudest voices in the wake of the high court's reversal of its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision this year, which coincidentally occurred in the heat of a crucial midterm election cycle.advocates for abortion rights, particularly in swing states where the outcome of the election in November will affect how reproductive health care is provided in the years to come.

The GOP's ongoing campaign against science and healthcare, which many doctors believe began at least with the fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act signed into law by the late President Barack Obama, has only gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is this perception that medicine and politics don’t mix, but the reality is that so much health care policy is determined by politics and who’s in office.”

This year, access to abortion has already motivated many people to cast ballots. Notably, weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Kansans turned out in force to oppose a measure removing abortion rights from the state constitution. And among swing voters and members of the political left, it continues to be the main midterm election issue.

According to polling, Republicans are more concerned about the economy and inflation than Republicans and Democrats are about access to abortion. According to a September poll from Marist College, PBS, and NPR, about 77% of Democrats and 58% of independents say they are more likely to vote this year because of abortion.

More than a dozen doctors who were interviewed by HuffPost used words like "terrifying," "frightening," and "scary" to describe the current political environment, which may have an impact on everything from contraception access to the skills that medical schools can teach students.

According to Pennsylvania-based OB-GYN Dr. Ann Steiner, "We need to know how to manage a miscarriage." Women are going to bleed to death.

Not only those that directly deal with reproductive health, but doctors in all specialties are concerned for their patients' safety as well as their own ability to practise medicine without being arrested or imprisoned.

Dr. Zeke Tayler, a critical care anesthesiologist from Philadelphia, stated, "I think everyone is terrified." Many [doctors] have expressed the possibility of having to leave the state because continuing to practise medicine here might no longer be viable. Because Republicans are currently using health care in general as a political issue, not just abortion.

Doctors, who are not known for their fervent political activism or prodigious amounts of free time, are therefore doing what needs to be done when they can. On the weekends, Tayler engages in door-to-door canvassing. The ER doctor, Abella, is building a following online. The family physician, Nguyen, even registers patients to vote while they are in the exam room and plans fundraisers in her spare time. Additionally, a potentially record number of doctors, including Somani, are running for office.

"Texas has been ruled by the same party for many years. I'm hoping people understand how crucial it is for them to register to vote and turn out because that group has only grown more extreme over the past few years, said Nguyen. Her state has some of the most stringent abortion laws in the nation, including one that lets regular people sue abortionists.

The national abortion debate was a factor in Somani's decision to run for office in the Democratic primary that she won in August, and it continues to motivate her as she works to win a seat as a state representative.

Somani asserted that it is now even more crucial for her to act as a counterweight to the pro-abortion GOP supermajority in the General Assembly since Ohio's six-week ban went into effect. Republicans in Ohio are notorious for introducing extreme companion bills to the state's abortion law, such as one that would make women undergo ectopic pregnancy reimplantation, which, as Somani testified to the legislature, is not even medically possible.

"I feel like I will be able to speak to some of these more egregious bills," Somani said. "If I get to the statehouse as an OB-GYN."

Not just Ohio is on the verge of adopting more restrictive abortion laws.

An injunction has temporarily stopped a nearly total abortion ban in Indiana amid a legal challenge. This is the state where a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio was able to obtain an abortion that she couldn't get in her home state (news that surfaced thanks to her doctor).

Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, has been fighting the implementation of a 110-year-old law that would criminalise abortion. Whitmer is running for reelection against Tudor Dixon, a Republican who is vehemently anti-abortion. A referendum to include abortion rights in the state constitution is also up for vote in Michigan.

Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, is a Christian nationalist state senator who sponsored a bill that would have banned abortions after six weeks and who supports strict abortion regulations. Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiac surgeon and former TV host who is the state's Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, has changed his position on abortion since declaring his candidacy. If the GOP seizes control of Congress next month, Oz, a senator, might vote to make abortion illegal nationwide.

As a result, a group of medical professionals has banded together to support their Democratic rivals in the state, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Attorney General Josh Shapiro, both of whom are running for governor.

One of the main organisers of the organisations Real Doctors Against Oz and Physicians for Shapiro, Abella, claimed that many of his coworkers were politically interested before Roe, especially during the pandemic and when the ACA was in jeopardy, but never to this extent.

Many doctors are leaving the sidelines because of what's happening on a national level with respect to reproductive health and patient privacy, he said.

Oz, a pro-life Republican who has mocked his stroke survivor opponent and promoted "miracle" treatments for money, is ironically the most well-known physician running in 2022. Oz "uses his medical credentials like an ATM card," according to Abella, who claimed that the TV host "goes against everything that many doctors stand for."

The 314 Action Fund, a progressive political action committee that supports the candidacies of medical professionals and other people with backgrounds in math and science, has announced the largest group of candidates it has ever endorsed, all of whom are ardent supporters of reproductive rights. Oz isn't one of them.

“A lot of physicians have become very alarmed by what’s going on nationally regarding reproductive health and patient privacy, so many of us are getting off the sidelines.”

Shaughnessy Naughton, the president of 314 Action, which is supporting over 400 candidates nationwide, stated that "[doctors] are one of the most trusted professionals, and we need them to think about how they can help the communities they serve from beyond the exam room."

The PAC made more than a dozen endorsements in Pennsylvania, where abortion is still legal up until the 23rd week of pregnancy. Anything more restrictive would have a chilling effect on medical specialties that overlap with reproductive health in a state that is home to some of the top hospitals and research universities in the country, doctors claim.

Dr. Val Arkoosh, a gynaecological anesthesiologist who ran in the state's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and now supports Fetterman, said that Pennsylvania still allows abortions, which is why there is so much enthusiasm for Josh Shapiro's election. It poses an existential risk.

According to the doctors who spoke with HuffPost, they weren't particularly worried about offending some of their patients with their political opinions. (In actuality, they asked HuffPost not to name those particular institutions because they were more concerned about sounding like they were speaking on behalf of their employers.)

"Doctors may believe, 'My patients are Democrats and Republicans. I shouldn't have a position. However, these aren't really Republican or Democratic issues, according to Cleveland, Ohio-based palliative care specialist Dr. Rab Razzak.

These are problems with human health, and they're getting political. I believe it's our responsibility to reframe this and discuss what it truly is, said Razzak, a co-founder of Doctors for America, a forward-thinking nonprofit organisation that seeks to increase access to quality, affordable healthcare.

Clinical epidemiologist and gastroenterology expert Dr. Meena Bewtra from Philadelphia said she won't discuss particular candidates or issues with her patients, but she has no problem asking them if they're registered to vote, sometimes as they're about to have a colonoscopy.

“I’m like: ‘Have you gotten your flu shot? Have you gotten your COVID booster? Are you registered to vote?’”

It's not politically affiliated, so we're not telling people who to vote for, according to Bewtra. "I consent patients for colonoscopies because it's part of democracy and because it's part of my health care. And I adore their reaction because they'll begin laughing. "Have you gotten your flu shot?" I ask. Do you currently have your COVID booster? Do you have a voter's registration?"

Many medical professionals might not consider it part of their duties to inform the public and their peers about women's health, but some, like Michigan-based OB-GYN Dr. Lisa Harris, see it as an extension of their duty to care for patients.

While treating an influx of patients from nearby states like Ohio and Kentucky, whose stricter abortion laws force patients to flee to more liberal areas for care, Harris still finds time to mentor colleagues and discuss her work.

Harris said, "I've spent my entire professional life writing, researching, and speaking about abortion, and I knew I had sort of quiet, tacit support from doctors across a wide range of specialties." However, she continued, "that support was not as quiet before Dobbs; people were actively reaching out and asking what they could do.

Harris continued, "Abortion affects every aspect of the healthcare system. "However, when abortion is viewed as a political issue rather than a health care issue, we don't think of it that way."