Why we must fight to protect Roe v. Wade

In my job as an OB-GYN, the patients I see express a huge amount of gratitude for the services provided. The patients are grateful for affordable health care delivered with compassion and sensitivity. These patients, both men and women, recognize the unique services that Planned Parenthood offers our Alaska community.

In addition to preventive care, infection screening, birth control and gender-affirming hormone care, we are one of the few facilities in Alaska where women can access safe and legal abortion services.

The Roe v. Wade decision allowing legal access to abortion is on the line with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Overturning Roe v. Wade would be a seismic shift for the country. If Roe v. Wade isn't overturned outright, we will see states actively chip away at abortion access. Unnecessary barriers such as waiting periods, admitting privileges, etc., will become all too common.

The balance of the Supreme Court will greatly impact efforts at the state level to roll back reproductive rights. This will have impacts for generations of women, especially women of color.

In Alaska, women seek abortions for so many different reasons. I have cared for young women who want to finish their education, start their career before becoming a mom. I have cared for 45-year-olds who completed their childbearing years ago and had a contraception failure. I have cared for women whose lives were threatened in past pregnancies and now cannot risk putting their life at risk to carry another child. I care for women who strongly desire motherhood but have learned their fetus is abnormal and will not survive outside of the womb. I support each of these women in the decisions to end a pregnancy.

Alaska's women would lose opportunities in the workforce, their livelihood and their health if they could not access abortion services safely.

Throughout 2017, I was proud to see people across this state stand up and speak out to protect health care access. Abortion is basic health care. Period. Overall, one in four women in the U.S. will have an abortion by the time they're 45 years old.

In Alaska, some 90 percent of Alaska counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 37 percent of Alaska women lived in those counties.

Planned Parenthood served more than 7,700 people in 2017 and that number is only growing. I know there is a need and we should be doing everything we can to provide better access to care, not worse.

Recent data show that the people of Alaska don't want to see Roe v. Wade overturned – 63 percent of Alaska voters want to see Roe upheld, while only 25 percent want it overturned.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski stood up for the people of Alaska when it came to health care access, and we believe she will do it again because there is too much at stake.

I am committed to do my part in ensuring people have access to a full range of reproductive health care. We need Sen. Murkowski to do her part and reject this nominee.

Dr. Tanya Pasternack is a doctor practicing obstetrics and gynecology with Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands. She lives in Anchorage.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser.