Medication abortion on the Vineyard going ‘pretty well’

The Hebrew Center hosted a panel on abortion access, which featured the chief program officer of Health Imperatives.

By
Mia Vittimberga
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7
From left: Elizabeth Barnes, Andrea Miller and Elizabeth Torrant. —Mia Vittimberga

The Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center hosted a panel, “What has happened in the year since Dobbs?” which examined abortion access on Martha’s Vineyard and across the country. 

The event was free and open to the public. 

Rabbi Caryn Broitman kicked off the discussion.

“This is a religious issue for us,” Broitman stated. “In Judaism, life begins at birth … and a pregnant mother’s life and health is always priority over the fetus.”

The three panelists each spoke about their work and access to reproductive healthcare.

Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, emphasized the importance of taking action at the state and local level.

“For nearly 20 decades, we’ve been saying, ‘We’ve got to play offense, because we can’t rely on the Supreme Court and Congress to protect our fundamental rights,’ Miller said.

She went on to say that still, in the wake of the Dobbs decision, there are more than 15 states with full or restrictive abortion bans. “It’s not hopeless,” she said.

“People forget that the local level is an arena that is absolutely rich with possibility. That’s why people have to be focused at all levels of government, because things can be done everywhere,” she said. 

Elizabeth Torrant, chief program officer of Health Imperatives, offered insight into abortion access on the Vineyard.

Torrant said that although the Cape and Islands have “tremendous” barriers to abortion access, the Tisbury Health Imperatives clinic now offers medication abortion. This service was recently made possible after receiving $700,000 in state funding.

“It’s going pretty well,” Torrant said. “Obviously, there’s an access problem for surgical abortions. Right now, we’re just happy to be offering these services.”

President of the Women’s Centers Elizabeth Barnes added that abortion is the “canary in the mine” for future government actions.

“If you can’t value the individual autonomy, safety, direction, [and] humanity of the person and the mother, I think that informs the direction of book banning, lack of free speech,” Barnes said. 

All three panelists agreed that while there is much work to be done, change is still possible.

“All hope is not lost. There is tremendous momentum happening,” Miller said.

“We want to recognize that people shouldn’t have to crawl through mud and fear of criminal prosecution to decide the course of their entire life,” Barnes said.

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7 COMMENTS

  1. ”Book banning, lack of free speech and crawling through the mud” for not valuing the individual autonomy of the baby perhaps. You can get an abortion in MA. Its legal. Give us a break.

    • You can get an abortion in MA. Its legal, the land of the free.
      Babies breath air.
      Who is us?
      The people who think that Trump accepts Jesus Christ as his personal savior?

  2. How can abortion medication be going “pretty well””??? Pretty well fir who?? Certainly not the unborn child and the mothers who will grieve their loss for years to come.

    • DR Howe– I have to say that I know many women
      who have had abortions. They all made a rational decision
      based on THEIR beliefs and THEIR situations.
      Not a single one of them regretted it for even a second,
      let alone grieved for years. Many of them chose to have
      children later in life when they were more able to accept the
      responsibly of motherhood and provide for their children in
      a manner they deserved.
      It all turned out “quite well” for every single one of them.
      Of course that is my opinion based on anecdotal evidence,
      so don’t just take my word for it.
      Here is a study authored by 4 Ph.D.’s, and others ,
      funded and facilitated by the University of California
      San Francisco that followed 1,000 women in 21 states
      for 5 years after having an abortion– SPOILER ALERT !–
      95% said it was the “right decision”
      https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/01/416421/five-years-after-abortion-nearly-all-women-say-it-was-right-decision-study

  3. A child is not physically attached to a birthing person.
    Gail, in you professional opinion, what percentage of women who choose abortion grieve for years?
    Have you authored any peer reviewed papers on the grief of abortion.
    Is your opinion personal?
    Not professional?

  4. An easier and more convenient means to end the life of an innocent unborn human baby…just what we need, seriously?

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