LETTERS: DOCTORS OPPOSE ABORTION PROCEDURE

To the editor:

One wonders why Gov. Mel Carnahan vetoed a ban on partial-birth abortions. Perhaps he was misled into believing such abortions are medically prudent. They are not.

Partial-birth abortion, which is often performed in the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy, is not a recognized medical procedure. There is no data reported in peer-review journals to attest to its safety. In fact, the evidence which does exist indicates that it increases risks of complications to life, health and future fertility of the women undergoing the procedure.

Partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated. On the contrary, the procedure is contraindicated because of the significant risks to the mother's health and reproductive capability. There are medically recognized procedures which are much safer that can be used to either deliver the baby or terminate the pregnancy.

It is truly a tragic situation when, due to the politics involved in the abortion debate, a procedure such as partial-birth abortion is defended as a sacred cow, when in reality it is a brutal procedure fraught with health risks for the women involved and offers no health benefit. It is time to move beyond the rhetoric and honestly confront the reality of what the procedure entails. Partial-birth abortions should be banned.

PETER GREENSPAN D.O., MARK STEGMAN M.D., ROBERT FERRIS M.D., ELIZABETH LONDINO M.D., DONALD MEHAN M.D., RUBY CASINO M.D. and ROY HOLAND M.D.

Physicians Ad Hoc Coalition for Truth

Jefferson City