It’s not a great time to be a person with a uterus in the United States of America right now.
If you’ve ever opened a college-level history book or visited the gynecologist to receive an endometrial biopsy, without a local anesthetic, or if you’ve ever had period cramps — let’s not forget that viral video in 2017 of men using period pain simulators on MTV (“Oh my God, I can’t breathe,” one said, wailing) — you’ll know that it’s never really been an amazing time to be a person with a uterus in the U.S.
Lately, however, it feels like we’re sliding backward at an alarming pace.
From the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade to the passing of extreme abortion bans in states like Alabama — where women are criminalized for seeking abortions, even in cases of rape or incest — reproductive rights are under attack like never before. Additionally, new threats, such as proposed restrictions on access to birth control and increased vows to defund essential healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood, further jeopardize the basic autonomy and healthcare options of millions of people with uteruses across the country.
There have been few figures as steadfast in defense of women’s autonomy as Boulder’s very own Dr. Warren M. Hern.
As the founder of the Boulder Abortion Clinic in 1973, Hern dedicated his career to providing essential abortion services, including the rare and highly politicized procedures often inaccurately labeled as “late-term.”
Medical professionals, including Planned Parenthood, emphasize that this term is misleading.
According to Planned Parenthood, “A pregnancy is ‘full term’ from 39-40 weeks, and ‘late-term’ at 41 weeks. Those are medical terms used by doctors. But anti-abortion rights activists use ‘late-term abortion’ to describe abortions that happen at 15 or 20 weeks, or even earlier — deliberately equating an abortion halfway through pregnancy with a pregnancy ready for delivery.”
Hern agrees that the term “late-term” is incorrect when discussing abortion.
“I prefer that we refer to them as late abortions or abortions later in pregnancy,” Hern said. “Using ‘late-term’ suggests that we’re performing abortions as a baby is being born, which is completely false. I ask that we avoid using that term and instead say late abortion or abortion later in pregnancy.”
In the face of growing legal restrictions and the rise of extreme abortion bans across the country, Hern’s work has never been more relevant.
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dr. Hern will discuss his latest book, “Abortion in the Age of Unreason: A Doctor’s Account of Caring for Women Before and After Roe V. Wade,” which hit shelves Sept. 30, at the St. Julien Hotel, 900 Walnut St., Boulder. Hern’s visit will offer a critical opportunity to reflect on the vital need for accessible reproductive healthcare and the escalating fight to protect these rights from further erosion.
Camera file photo
Abortion protester Hugh McCaffrey protests outside of Warren Hern’s clinic May 21, 1987. (Camera file photo)
“Abortion in the Age of Unreason” offers a vivid account of stories from the frontlines of the nationally prominent doctor. (“It is a privilege to do this work,” Hern writes in the book.)
In the book, Hern details when he protected patients and staff from dissent and protestor attacks. He notes the dangers women have faced when there is restricted access to reproductive services. He looks at the present, or, what he calls the “Age of Unreason.”
“If women are not free, none of us are free,” Hern writes in his book.
We caught up with Hern ahead of his St. Julien appearance to have a blunt — but sobering — conversation about the state of reproductive rights in the U.S.
Q: At your upcoming event, you’ll be speaking to an audience that includes both longtime supporters and people who may be new to the conversation about reproductive rights. What do you hope attendees will take away from your talk, especially given the current political climate surrounding abortion access?
A: I want people to understand that pregnancy is not a benign condition — women can die from being pregnant. They need medical care, and the treatment of choice for pregnancy is abortion, unless a woman wants to have a baby. Additionally, the Republican Party has exploited the abortion issue and Christians, for the last 50 years, to gain control of the federal judiciary with the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. But their objectives are far more sinister — they aim to destroy democracy in this country, and that’s what (Donald) Trump and the current Republican Party are pushing for.
Q: Many consider you an advocate for women’s reproductive rights. How do you view your role in this movement, and how has your work as a physician shaped your approach to advocacy, despite ongoing threats of violence?
A: I was the founding medical director of the first private nonprofit abortion clinic in Colorado, which opened in Boulder in November 1973. That was the first clinic in Colorado. I left at the end of the next year and opened my private practice on Jan. 22, 1975, the Boulder Abortion Clinic. I’m still the director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic — that’s my private medical practice. I basically don’t see myself as an advocate. I see myself as a physician. I’m just trying to practice medicine and help women, even though some people have used violence to stop us from doing that. But I’ve continued my practice.
Q: Despite ongoing political threats, how do you maintain hope and resilience, both personally and for your clinic?
A: We have to be involved politically because Republicans are trying to take away healthcare for women — and they’ve succeeded in doing so in 20 states. Abortion is now illegal in those states under Republican control, and their goal is to eliminate reproductive healthcare entirely. We’re talking about taking society back to the fourth century.
I don’t think people fully understand that, but that’s where we’re headed. Right now, the only way to stop this is to vote Democratic and keep Republicans out of office. Otherwise, if they stay in power, there’s simply no hope — period.
Tickets to the event are $11.49 and can be purchased at boulderbookstore.net. Books will be available at the event for 10% off the hardcover price of $24.99.
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Publish date : 2024-10-15 12:24:00
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