Thread by @DrRobDavidson

As a doctor whose wife experienced 4 miscarriages amongst the 3, now healthy adult children we have raised, I can’t stop thinking about @JDVance’s answers on abortion during the VP debate. Here is the problem with his and Trump’s “leave it to the states” approach. 1/13

He claimed that the US is a diverse country, and the views of California may differ from the views of Georgia or Arizona, etc. I couldn't agree more — we ARE diverse — but that diversity does not end at state lines. 2/13

That diversity extends to counties, cities, neighborhoods, households, and members within a household. It even exists within an individual, given varying circumstances. These circumstances personally resonate with me and my experience as a would-be father. 3/13

With our first pregnancy, I imagined my child playing in the yard. Maybe playing catch or dancing in the living room together. We fixed up a nursery for her. We told everyone about the good news. In my mind I was already a dad and nobody could tell me different. 4/13

Then my wife started bleeding and cramping in the clinic, and an ultrasound confirmed that we had lost our baby. Our grieving was real, and it helped me be a better doctor by understanding what some of our patients were going through. 5/13

With the next pregnancy, we did not tell anyone until the 20 week ultrasound, and I was not a dad until I heard my daughter cry. My understanding of pregnancy and life and loss was honed in those personal moments that cannot be imagined until they are lived. 6/13

In the span of a year, my views on when life begins were shaken. Science and medicine cannot define it. Religion cannot define it. Government certainly cannot define it. Because the definition is so personal that even individuals cannot consistently define it. 7/13

The definition is too complex to actually be defined. Add to this the medical challenges that exist in pregnancy with the risk of eclampsia, stroke, blood clots, sepsis, and a host of other serious consequences, and the complexity of choosing to be pregnant increases. 8/13

So “leaving it to the states” as a matter of abortion policy negates the diversity that exists between and within individuals when it comes to whether or not to continue a pregnancy. 9/13

If Vance & Trump think California is different than Georgia, then they must believe that Fulton County is different than Orange County, and surely San Francisco is different than Clermont, GA. And I know that my home is different from my Trump-supporting neighbors’ homes. 10/13

But one cannot stop there. Each individual brings a different perspective, and in my case that perspective can change in a very short time. And as doctors we are trained to help individuals navigate complex medical issues to make the best decision for them. 11/13

So “leave it to the states” should really be changed to “leave it to the individuals,” and those individuals should have the freedom to decide, in concert with whomever they decide to include in that decision, what happens to their own bodies. 12/13

As @ReverendWarnock says “A doctor’s office is too small for a woman, her doctor, and the United States government” and @Tim_Walz often says, the government should “mind (its) own damn business.” /END