"Heartbreaking" stories go untold, doctors say, as employers "muzzle" them in wake of abortion ruling

Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, a number of doctors say they are being restricted and censored from discussing abortion by their employers.

 

“They’re censoring me,” one doctor told CNN. “It’s shameful and embarrassing to work for an institution that is not supportive of women’s rights.

 

“I’m extremely angry,” she added. “It’s disgusting.”

 

A physician in another state echoed her: “I feel shackled. I feel muzzled. I feel completely restrained, and I’m outraged.”

 

Eight doctors interviewed by CNN say their employers – major public and private medical centers in five states – have asked them to not speak publicly about abortion or have instructed them that if they do speak publicly about abortion, they can do so only as private citizens and cannot mention where they work.

 

“If [they] don’t speak up, who is going to provide the evidence about the effect [abortion bans are] having on patients?” asked Dr. Erika Werner, who chairs the health policy and advocacy committee at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and is the chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

 

Dr. Eric Rubin, editor in chief of The New England Journal of Medicine, said doctors need to be able to speak up because “the world of medicine in general – and certainly abortion – is full of misinformation, and we have not found good ways to counter that.”

 

As a physician myself, it is disheartening to hear when doctors cannot speak out about their patients’ health. Health should always be prioritized over politics.