Lack of women's health care alarming

A friend who lives in Bonners Ferry has stage 4 endometrial cancer. After she was diagnosed, her gynecologist closed her Bonners Ferry practice and left North Idaho. 

This exodus of women’s health specialists is alarming. Only half of Idaho’s counties still have obstetric gynecologists, and 22% have quit Idaho. This has been inspired by politicians like Scott Herndon who legislate to take away women’s reproductive rights and threaten doctors with criminal charges and jail time. 

Women facing diseases of their reproductive organs and women wanting to practice informed birth control should have the right to local, trusted medical care. These decisions should be between a woman and her doctor not a bunch of men in Boise. 

Not having a local doctor will cause delays in diagnosis, stress, added expense, and make traveling hours for care mandatory. Mr. Herndon probably doesn’t care that this shortage of women’s doctors will not only affect young, childbearing-age women but will affect our older mothers, sisters, and grandmothers when they can’t find local women’s medical care while facing life-threatening illnesses.

I and three friends have become Republicans in name only. We didn’t make this decision lightly. We did this specifically to vote against Scott Herndon in May’s primary.

BETTY GARDNER

Priest River