The Lexington Herald-Leader published three stories about abortion on Jan. 16. Two of them were by Alex Acquisto. The first was titled, “She needed an abortion, but Kentucky’s ban prevented it. ‘Somebody is going to die,’ doctors warn. “The second is titled, “Pressure is mounting on Kentucky Republicans to add abortion ban exceptions. Will they?” In an in-depth story about a Paducah woman who had to travel out of state to get an abortion after learning that her much-wanted pregnancy was no longer viable after a severe complication, Acquisto writes that this is not unusual in Kentucky. “Five OB-GYNs and high-risk maternal-fetal medicine doctors across central and southern Kentucky told the Herald-Leader that the commonwealth’s near-total abortion bans and their vaguely defined exceptions do not permit doctors to legally provide the standard of care to patients like Genevieve,” Acquisto reports. “All said their ability to safely treat pregnant patients who require a medically indicated abortion has been compromised by state statute. Nearly all have referred patients out of state for these procedures, fearful of performing them in violation of the law and being charged with a felony.” Dr. Karen Playforth, a maternal-fetal medicine doctor in Lexington who treats patients with high-risk pregnancies, told Acquisto that Kentucky’s current abortion ban “is putting women’s lives at risk for the sake of fetuses that will not survive.” Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg, a gynecologic oncologist in Louisville and the legislative advocacy chair for the Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told Acquisto: “I do not believe it was the intent of the majority of legislators to tie doctors’ hands and keep us from taking care of women who are pregnant, but this is the kind of thing where, if we don’t get this fixed, then eventually — and probably sooner rather than later — somebody is going to die. I don’t want somebody in Kentucky to have to die before our legislators wake up, realize there’s a problem, and fix it.” Acquisto also digs into lawmakers’ reactions to bills that have been filed in the first week of the 30-day legislative session to add exceptions to the state’s strict abortion bans. The third article was an opinion piece by Linda Blackford, titled, “Women are suffering. Kentucky must change abortion laws so they get the health care they need.” Blackford’s op-ed calls on lawmakers “to stop ignoring the unintended consequences of their laws, the chilling effects that are stopping doctors from giving appropriate medical care.” She calls on them to remove the harsh criminal penalties held over doctors’ heads that make them afraid to give women appropriate medical care. She calls on them to add rape and incest exemptions. She calls on them to provide doctors with greater details about what they are allowed to do to provide appropriate health care to women. She also calls on them to add a list of fatal fetal anomalies as exceptions. Blackford also points out that in other states, women are dying because they can’t get access to the care they need when they miscarry or have fatal fetal anomalies. In conclusion, she writes: “Kentucky is ruled by an extremist supermajority; the state is not losing its abortion ban any time soon. Still, we should not let perfect be the enemy of good. These terrible laws could become slightly less terrible. It might just save someone’s life.” The post Herald-Leader publishes 3 stories about abortion on same day; op-ed calls for lawmakers to make “terrible” laws “slightly less terrible” appeared first on The Lexington Times.