In a Feb. 12 commentary, Mylan Denerstein, counsel to the governor, urged support for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Reproductive Health Care bill. Ms. Denerstein contends that the governor's bill is a women's equality initiative. In fact, this bill, as it stands in the Legislature, poses a grave threat to pregnant women.
New York has for 40 years required that only a licensed physician perform surgical abortions. Unlicensed "back alley" abortionists risk criminal sanctions. Cuomo would strike down all criminal penalties for non-physicians who perform abortions and allow undefined "health care providers" or "qualified licensed medical practitioners" to perform abortion surgery up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The bill identifies no qualifications for such non-surgeons.
New York licenses multiple categories of "health care providers" and "qualified medical practitioners." However, they include dentists, dental assistants, registered and practical nurses, optometrists, chiropractors, physical therapists, pharmacists and veterinarians, to name a few.
Eliminating the obligation that a physician perform this surgery up to 24 weeks of pregnancy would put the life and health of every woman seeking an abortion at risk. Even more grossly, this bill rolls out the red carpet for late-term abortionists.
The bill all but eliminates restrictions on late-term abortions and creates an arbitrary definition of the word "viability." In the last trimester, an unborn child would only be considered "viable" if a physician determines that the baby could survive outside the womb without "extraordinary medical measures," which are not defined. This could mean that up to the ninth month, an unborn child who might need an an incubator, oxygen mask or breathing tube to survive outside the womb, could be legally aborted for that reason alone. This decision would, of course, be made by the physician being paid for the abortion.
No one who professes an interest in women's health or holds even the most basic of moral values could possibly vote for this radical piece of legislation.
KATHLEEN O'CONNELL
Attorney at law
Murphy & O'Connell
New York City