Op-Ed: An RN's Personal Perspective on Kentucky's Healthcare Crisis

Published in the Courier Journal 

 KY healthcare won't improve until the abortion ban ends | Opinion.

For Jordan Cobb, RN, BSN, Kentucky's abortion ban isn't just a public policy issue - it's deeply personal. Her sister is raising her family and hopes to continue growing it in Kentucky. But Jordan worries that if a pregnancy emergency occurred, her sister's medical care could be dictated by state law instead of her physicians' medical judgment. She writes that many Kentuckians now approach pregnancy with fear rather than confidence, uncertain whether they will receive timely medical care if complications arise.

Jordan argues that Kentucky's abortion ban continues to exacerbate the state's downward spiral of inadequate and increasingly unavailable healthcare. She explains that physicians and allied healthcare professionals are increasingly unwilling to live and practice in a state where they and their patients face legal risk, and where fear of criminal prosecution can prevent them from providing the accepted standard of care. The result is an even greater challenge recruiting and retaining the healthcare workforce Kentucky desperately needs.

Take One Minute to Hear From the Experts

Watch these 30sec. videos as a Kentucky registered nurse and physician explain the real-world impact of living and practicing under Kentucky's abortion ban.