Legislators don’t need to be in on doctor visits
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Editor,
The Republican Party has campaigned on freedom for individuals, more local control and decreased involvement of government in our daily lives. Why, then, are we seeing so many bills in our state legislature that bring the state into our lives, in some very intimate ways?
As a retired nurse practitioner (four years of school for a bachelor’s of science in nursing degree and three more for a master’s degree), I am astonished that Republican legislators feel qualified and at ease intervening in complicated medical judgements and treatment, which have long been private between individuals and well-trained medical providers.
Considerable knowledge and understanding goes into difficult decisions made with patients about such things as abortions, end-of-life care and treatment for gender dysphoria, but our state legislature has seen fit to intervene. There was even a proposed bill (HB-171) to govern the use of misoprostol, which is a drug that already has careful medical protocols. Just visualize for a moment that you are facing a difficult decision about your health, and as you are talking with your doctor about it, who shows up? Your legislator.
Gail Trenfield
St. Ignatius
