No one insults the reproductive medical field more than the abortion lobby who like to pretend that obstetricians and gynecologists (OB-GYNs) are schoolchildren rather than seasoned and studied healthcare professionals. That’s at least what it seems like as the mainstream media continues to perpetuate the narrative that these doctors “just can’t understand” pro-life laws and are consequently running around like chickens with their heads cut off when it comes to emergency life of the mother situations.  

The Washington Post recently ran such a story with the dramatic headline “Faced with Abortion Bans, Doctors Beg Hospitals for Help with Key Decisions.” The piece included several OB-GYNs making the case that they were still unsure of care protocols in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision and documentation from some hospitals which the Post concluded was “virtually identical” to the language of the applicable pro-life law.   

This is an interesting and unflattering portrayal of OB-GYNs to be sure — painting them as desperately dumb and begging for help — and it seems to forget two important things.  

First, despite media conations to the contrary, this isn’t a group of bumbling backwoodsmen who don’t know how to read. OB-GYNs are intensely well-educated. After getting both a bachelor’s degree and medical degree, these doctors spend several years in internship and residency programs — all of which can rack up to 11 – 16 years in school overall (after high school). They are a highly learned and skilled healthcare specialty.   

Second, pro-life laws aren’t that hard to understand, especially with an OB-GYN’s educational background, as every single enacted restriction protects life-saving care. And you don’t have to take that from us — take it from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which is a leader in medical education and research. In a recent article, the AAMC stated it plainly enough: “Every state has an exception that allows for an abortion needed to save the life of the pregnant person [AKA the mother].”   

This makes a universal baseline very clear: For all concerned OB-GYNs in every state across the country, it is perfectly legal to treat women in life-threatening situations — and as Students for Life of America (SFLA) Lead Operations Supervisor & Medical/Law Coordinator Gavin Oxley wrote recently in another blog, that is the standard. He stated:  

“The doctor must always first act to protect the woman — or else both mother and baby’s lives are put at risk together. Commonly discussed cases such as ectopic pregnancy, preterm premature rupture of the membrane (PPROM), and preeclampsia with severe features are just a few of the life-threatening complications a woman can experience during her pregnancy. These conditions are serious, but contrary to the agenda of the loud pro-abortion minority, abortion is not the first line of care.  

(Click HERE to read another SFLA blog entitled “Pro-Life Doctor on the Many Ways That Abortion Harms Women.”)  

“When a physician diagnoses a pregnant woman with a life-threatening complication, they assess the situation and then, unless there is immediate danger to the woman, practice expectant management. Expectant management is the practice of helping the mother to safely carry the pregnancy for as long as possible. Depending on the severity of the condition, physicians will work with the mother to reach 34 or 37-weeks gestational age (about eight months).   

“In cases where expectant management is not effective or the life of the mother is in immediate danger, maternal-fetal separation is necessary — yet this is still different from elective abortion, which is never medically necessary. This compassionate and ethical next step is to perform an early delivery, which respects the lives of both mother and child who are both patients of the physician.”

Medicine isn’t perfect, and sometimes life-affirming care for a mother will end up with the preborn baby accidentally passing away — but it’s ridiculous to equate such care with intentionally seeking to kill a baby in the womb: abortion. That’s not healthcare; that’s killing for convenience.  

Perhaps abortionists are confused about what gestational age they are allowed to continue with their killing — but you’ll have to excuse our lack of sympathy for their troubles in exterminating innocent life. On the other hand, doctors have a clear pass on protecting women’s lives so we just can’t take any sort of “confusion” on the matter seriously. If they made it through medical school, merely treating both mother and child as valued patients should be a piece of cake.  

READ NEXT: No One Digs Abortion More Than a Deadbeat Dad: Two Adults Charged with Kidnapping Minor for Alleged Coerced Abortion