Today, Dr. Serina Floyd, Physicians for Reproductive Health Fellow and ob/gyn in DC, is participating in a Congressional briefing on the current state of abortion access. Dr. Floyd will be sharing her expertise and experiences alongside Dr. Austin Dennard and Jessica Valenti and it will be livestreamed at 10 AM ET.
The following statement is from Dr. Floyd’s remarks to the Senators:
“I am here today to make clear that abortion is essential health care. I can say without hesitation that I have saved people’s lives by providing abortion care. It is a critical part of my work as an OB-GYN, work that has become increasingly challenging to do in this country.
I can say without hesitation that I have saved people’s lives by providing abortion care. It is a critical part of my work as an OB-GYN…
“We are approaching two years since the Dobbs decision overturned fifty years of precedent and removed the constitutional protections around abortion care, and the devastating consequences are being felt every day for countless individuals, families, communities, and providers across the US.
“Guttmacher data revealed last month that 1 in 5 patients now travel out of state for abortion, but what about the people for whom abortion bans or increased restrictions have proven impossible to navigate? We know both from research and from reality what it means when someone is denied the abortion they need, know of the mental, emotional, physical and economic impacts of those denials.
“Systemic racism and economic injustice translates into enormous failures of the US health care and economic systems to meet the needs of minoritized and marginalized individuals. This has resulted in a disproportionate shouldering of the burden of restrictive laws and abortion bans on people of color, those with low incomes, young people, LGBTQ+ persons, rural communities, migrants and immigrants, those with disabilities, and those experiencing incarceration. The impacts on these communities are, and always have been, the greatest.
“I know abortion is necessary, compassionate, essential health care, and that my patients are capable of making complex, thoughtful decisions about their health and lives. I am unwavering in my commitment to support all people within and traveling to the community I serve in whatever way I can.”