WISCONSINITES OF COLOR ALSO.
>> ONE REETCHER WANTS TO KNOW
HOW WISCONSIN DOCTORS FELT ABOUT
ABORTION.
TWO SURVEYS OF PHYSICIANS
CONDUCTED BY THE UW
COLLABORATIVE FOR REPRODUCTIVE
EQUITY SHOW THAT THE
OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF WISCONSIN
DOCTORS FAVOR ABORTION AS PART
OF THE WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE.
WE TURN TO THE COLLABORATIVE'S
DIRECTOR, JENNY HIGGINS,
PROFESSOR OF OBSTETRICS AND
GYNECOLOGY AND GENDER AND WOMEN
STUDIES.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME AND
PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE.
I APPRECIATE IT.
>> SO WHY DID YOU CONDUCT THIS
SURVEY OF UW SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
PUBLIC HEALTH PHYSICIANS?
>> WE SOMETIMES HAVE THIS SENSE
BECAUSE OF THE WAY ABORTION IS
COVERED IN THE MEDIA THAT THERE
IS A 50/50 BREAK DOWN OF PEOPLE
WHO FEEL SUPPORTIVE OF OR ARE
AGAINST ABORTION, AND SEEMING
IMPORTANCE TO DOCUMENT THE
PRECISE NUMBER OF PHYSICIANS IN
PARTICULAR WHO FELT SUPPORTIVE
OF ABORTION OR CONCERNED ABOUT
ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN PART
BECAUSE AS PHYSICIANS, THEY'RE
THE BEST PEOPLE TO BE IN A
POSITION TO MAKE THE
EVIDENCE-BASED DECISIONS ABOUT
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE.
>> SO WHAT DID THE SURVEY FIND
THEN?
>> WE FOUND OVERWHELMINGLY THAT
PHYSICIANS NOT ONLY ARE
SUPPORTIVE OF ABORTION, BUT THAT
THEY THINK THAT WOMEN'S HEALTH
IN WISCONSIN WILL GET WORSE IF
ROE V. WADE IS OVERTURNED.
SO 91% OF OVER 900 PHYSICIANS WE
SURVEYED SAID THAT WOMEN'S
HEALTH IN OUR STATE WOULD GET
WORSE IF ABORTION WERE TO BECOME
ILLEGAL.
OVER 90% OF PHYSICIANS ALSO
EXPRESSED AT LEAST SOME LEVEL OF
CONCERN ABOUT LEGISLATIVE
INTERFERENCE AND THE
DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP.
>> FIRST, HOW WOULD IT GET WORSE
FOR WOMEN?
>> WELL, WE DIDN'T ASK THAT IN
THAT PARTICULAR STUDY.
IN ANOTHER STUDY, WE INTERVIEWED
ABOUT 23 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
WHO ARE MORE SPECIFICALLY
INVOLVED IN REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTHCARE AND ABORTION CARE, SO
NOT A GENERAL POPULATION OF
PHYSICIANS BUT THIS WAS NOW A
MORE SPECIALIZED POPULATION OF
PHYSICIANS, AND WE ASKED THEM
SOME OF THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT
WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN AS A RESULT IF
ROE IS OVERTURNED.
THEY DESCRIBED A NUMBER OF
CONCERNS THEY HAD ABOUT THAT,
ONE BEING BOTH SHORT AND LONG
TERM NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON HEALTH
AND WELL-BEING, SO AS AN
EXAMPLE, CARRYING A PREGNANCY TO
TERM AND GIVING BIRTH IS
INHERENTLY MUCH MORE RISKY THAN
GETTING A FIRST TRIMESTER
ABORTION, SO JUST BY BEING
FORCED TO HAVE PREGNANCIES AND
GIVE BIRTH THAT PEOPLE WEREN'T
EXPECTING TO, THEIR RATE OF
MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY
CAN GO UP.
ALSO THE EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT BEING ABLE
TO OBTAIN ABORTIONS, PHYSICIANS
IN OUR SURVEY REPORTED THAT
PEOPLE WOULDN'T DO AS WELL IF
THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO -- THEY AND
THEIR CHILDREN WOULDN'T DO AS
WELL IF THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO
RECEIVE THE ABORTIONS THEY
WANTED TO HAVE.
>> SO WHAT WOULD LEGISLATIVE
INTERFERENCE LOOK LIKE?
>> IT'S A GOOD QUESTION, AND
THAT QUESTION WAS WRITTEN IN A
VERY BROAD WAY.
WE WERE INTERESTED IN -- WE
WANTED TO SEE A LITTLE BIT AS
DID PHYSICIANS FEEL SOMEHOW
DIFFERENTLY ABOUT ABORTION
RELATED INTERFERENCE VERSUS
OTHER TYPES OF LEGISLATIVE
INTERFERENCE, BUT I THINK WHAT I
TOOK AWAY FROM THAT FINDING WAS
THAT IN GENERAL, AT LEAST THE
PHYSICIANS WE SURVEYED, THERE
WAS A SENSE OF IF -- THAT WE AS
PHYSICIANS OR I AS A PHYSICIAN
AM IN THE BEST PLACE TO MAKE
DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTHCARE OR
HOW HEALTHCARE SERVICES SHOULD
OCCUR AS OPPOSED TO PEOPLE WHO
DON'T HAVE THAT BACKGROUND.
BUT MOSTLY I THINK IT'S JUST AN
INDICATION THAT PHYSICIANS IN
OUR STATE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT
THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE
ENSURING THAT HEALTHCARE
PROGRAMS OCCUR IN A CERTAIN WAY.
>> DOES THERE EXIST A STIGMA
AROUND THE PROCEDURE, EVEN FOR
PHYSICIANS WHO SUPPORT IT
MEDICALLY?
>> YEAH, THERE'S TREMENDOUS
STIGMA AROUND THE PROCEDURE, AND
WE FOUND THIS IN OUR SURVEY AS
WELL, SO ONE WAY IT'S MANIFESTED
IS THAT WHILE, ON AVERAGE,
PEOPLE IN OUR SURVEY WERE
INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE OF
ABORTION, THEY PERCEIVED THEIR
PEERS TO BE LESS SUPPORTIVE ON
AVERAGE, RIGHT?
IN PART BECAUSE ABORTION IS
STIGMATIZED.
SO EVERYONE FEELS AS IF EVERYONE
ELSE IS A LITTLE LESS SUPPORTIVE
THAN THEY ARE, WHEN IN FACT THE
NORM IS TO BE QUITE SUPPORTIVE.
THEY ALSO -- A SIGNIFICANT
NUMBER OF PHYSICIANS IN OUR
SURVEY SAID THAT THEY WORRIED
ABOUT ALIENATING THEIR PEERS OR
THEIR PATIENTS IF THEY WERE TO
TAKE A PUBLIC STANCE ABOUT
ABORTION.
AGAIN, SUGGESTING THAT THERE'S
SOME SOCIAL STIGMA SURROUNDING
THIS TOPIC.
>> VERY, VERY COMPLICATED STUFF.
JENNY HIGGINS, THANKS VERY MUCH.