The US Supreme Court's decision to overturn its earlier ruling in the Roe v. Wade case and allow US states to decide whether and how to perform abortions has left some cancer doctors struggling to interpret its effect on patients, ABC News reported on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2022) The US Supreme Court's decision to overturn its earlier ruling in the Roe v. Wade case and allow US states to decide whether and how to perform abortions has left some cancer doctors struggling to interpret its effect on patients, ABC news reported on Friday.
The ruling will impact different aspects of women's health and health care, but could be a "death sentence" for some cancer patients, the report cited Dr. Shikha Jain, an oncologist at the University of Illinois Cancer Center, as saying.
The report pointed out that some women opt to have an abortion if they urgently need to start chemotherapy, but added the doctors are concerned that the patients are either not going to be able to make that decision for themselves or the decision will be put in the hands of courts.
Many of the new abortion restrictions have exceptions for a medical emergency or life-threatening physical condition, but some oncologists say the legal terms are unclear and may leave them legally and criminally liable, CBS News reported.
In addition, cancer patients may not qualify for those exceptions because of the way the new laws have been written or patients may have to go to court to get permission for and abortion that could delaying critical treatments, the report said.
If a medical emergency necessitates abortion under the exemption in the state of Georgia, overzealous prosecutors may question the decision by a doctor to proceed and facilitate the procedure, the report added.
