Overturning Roe v. Wade would ‘increase the already rising U.S. maternal mortality rates’
Experts on obstetrics and gynecology, health law, gender minority health available for interviews
CHICAGO --- Northwestern University experts on obstetrics and gynecology, health law and gender minority health are available for interviews on the U.S. Supreme Court’s potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
“This is an egregious assault on women,” said Northwestern Medicine OBGYN Dr. Melissa Simon. “This has been settled law for decades. Safe abortion care is an essential component of safe maternity care. Overturning this law would increase the already rising U.S. maternal mortality rates. This potential Supreme Court decision is dangerous for women.”
Simon is vice chair for research in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and the director of the Institute for Public Health and Medicine’s Center for Health Equity Transformation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
To schedule interviews with any of the experts here, email Kristin Samuelson or Win Reynolds.
Expert on constitutional and health law, reproductive ethics:
Katie Watson, JD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, medical education and medical social sciences at Feinberg. A lawyer and bioethicist who completed fellowships in clinical medical ethics and medical humanities, Watson is well versed in the legal aspect of abortion. She authored the book, “Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law and Politics of Ordinary Abortion.”
Expert on gender minorities:
Ricky Hill, PhD, research assistant professor at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Feinberg. They have a background in community organizing and public health, and now direct the 2GETHER Project, an HIV-prevention and relationship education program.
“The implications of this potential ruling will be far more sweeping than I think many of us can even begin to realize,” Hill said. “The cries of ‘states’ rights!’ are ready to encompass everything from birth control to gender-affirming care to marriage equality to who knows what else. Abortion is just one focused attack on bodily autonomy, and I anticipate that this is only the beginning of a backsliding of rights for a lot of marginalized individuals.”