Testimony of PRH Fellows Dr. Nisha Verma and Dr. Allison Linton on Abortion Bans
CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY
Dr. Nisha Verma and Dr. Allison Linton
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
June 4, 2024
On June 4, 2024, Physicians for Reproductive Health Fellows Dr. Nisha Verma and Dr. Allison Linton testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about the impact of abortion bans and restrictions on patients, health care providers, and communities.
Dr. Verma, a Georgia-based ob/gyn, and Dr. Linton, a Wisconsin-based ob/gyn, shared their experiences providing reproductive health care in states with restrictive abortion laws and addressed the health, social, and workforce consequences of restrictions on abortion access.
Hearing: The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America
FROM THE TESTIMONY
Dr. Allison Linton
“Unfortunately, our ability to do our job changed two years ago. On June 24, 2022 at 9:10 a.m. Central Time, the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling sent reproductive health care into a tailspin. For the past 711 days, my patients and my colleagues have been existing in a state of chaos, confusion and fear.”
“Sometimes they come alone. Sometimes with a partner or a friend. But we are always with them. Their doctors, their nurses, their health care teams — we support them in every situation, giving them all the information we can, and trusting them to make the decision that is best for them.”
Dr. Nisha Verma
“As patients face a growing wave of abortion restrictions, many describe feeling betrayed by a government and health care system that is supposed to serve and protect them. Doctors, too, feel betrayed by our government.”
“I urge you to listen to the stories of people who provide and access abortion care. I hope these stories help you to see how profoundly restrictions on abortion access harm all of our communities.”