I’m a Republican Kansas OB-GYN. Prasanth Reddy would strip away my patients’ rights | Opinion

I will never forget where I was on June 24, 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the fateful Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade. At the maternal fetal medicine office in Kansas City where I practice as a high-risk OB-GYN, we watched as emails flooded our inboxes, detailing how the hospital would cope with the severe new restrictions on our practice and patients.

Since that day, I’ve had to change how I counsel patients experiencing dangerous pregnancy complications, balancing my Hippocratic Oath, federal regulations on emergency care and Missouri’s new total abortion ban. One wrong move could cost me my medical license, send me to federal prison and end my career. This reality has made me incredibly cautious in what I say to patients and how I document it. It’s also pushed me to dive headfirst into understanding how our national and state legislatures function — and into fighting extreme policies that limit abortion access.

While observing the Kansas Legislature during the 2023-2024 session, it became clear that, despite Kansas voters emphatically supporting the right to make our own health care decisions — including the choice to end a pregnancy when needed — politicians at the state level continue to push for additional restrictions on reproductive medicine.

We’ll have to address this in November, when every state senator and representative is up for election. But perhaps even more important, we face a crucial choice at the national level in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District. Our U.S. representative must faithfully represent Kansans, including our majority belief that medical decisions should remain among providers and patients, free from political interference. With Prasanth Reddy running for that seat, he’s proven he would disregard the will of Kansans.

As a registered Republican who has lived in Prairie Village for more than 30 years, I am deeply concerned about Reddy’s extreme stance on abortion. He believes politicians — not patients and their trusted health care providers — should decide abortion policies. After witnessing the recent attempts by certain state legislators and Attorney General Kris Kobach to restrict personal freedoms in Kansas, we cannot afford to have another extreme politician representing us at the national level.

Reddy supports the overturning of Roe v. Wade and is backed by MAGA Washington politicians who favor a national abortion ban without exceptions. If elected, Reddy would vote for such measures in Congress, jeopardizing the reproductive rights that Kansans made clear in August 2022 we overwhelmingly support. His views are not only out of touch with Kansas values, but also threaten our rights to make decisions about our own bodies.

Across the U.S., states with strict abortion bans are facing the harsh realities of these laws. Pregnant patients are being forced to travel farther from home to receive prenatal care and deliver at qualified hospitals. Medical providers are leaving states that restrict safe reproductive health care, creating “maternity care deserts.” Thousands of rape victims are being compelled to give birth to their attackers’ babies. Women are losing their fertility because they are denied timely needed care. Tragically, people have died unnecessarily from hemorrhage and sepsis because hospitals were too afraid to act in time.

This is the grim reality that Prasanth Reddy envisions for our country.

Sharice Davids, on the other hand, stands with Kansas women and physicians, respecting our right to make health care decisions without government or political interference. She has been clear about her stance, saying: “Health care decisions should be between you and your doctor — without the interference of politicians. I will always fight to ensure Kansas families have access to the full range of health care services they need, including reproductive health care.”

Join me in ensuring our voices are heard and our rights are protected. For the sake of my high-risk pregnant patients, your physicians and your loved ones, let’s reelect Sharice Davids in November.

Elizabeth Wickstrom of Prairie Village practices high-risk obstetrics as a maternal fetal medicine physician, caring for patients with complicated pregnancies. She dedicates her time to her work, her family, a maternity center in southern Haiti and several educational and voter advocacy groups in Kansas.