Reflections on Women’s Health

COMMENTARY

Victor Tongdee/Adobestock

The enactment of Texas law SB8 can have deleterious impact to the health of women seeking care. Furthermore, this law, in my opinion, has the potential to fracture the physician-patient relationship. Women have, and should have, the right to be educated about their medical options in order to make an informed decision regarding their health.

I hope that we consider the mental health implications—increased anxiety, poor self-esteem, and depression—for women who are denied access to abortion, irrespective of the different perspectives on this controversial topic.

Hopefully this poem provides some food for thought.

Uterus bemoans

Pro-life misinterpreted

Consider grey-zone

Dr Clark is associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine - Greenville and medical director and division chief for Adult Inpatient and Consult-Liaison Services for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Prisma Health - Upstate. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric Times^TM.