State House Candidates Lisa Borowski and Melissa Cerrato
Dr. Jessica Klemens, DO, Obstetrician/Gynecologist
Dr. Ben Abella, MD, Emergency Medicine
Dr. Alhambra Frarey, MD, MSHP, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Karen Feisullin, MD, Obstetrician/Gynecologist,
Dr. Kavita Vinekar, MD, MPH, Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Complex Family Planning Specialist
Dr. Blythe Bynum, MD Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Fellow in Complex Family Planning
Dr. Belinda Birnbaum, MD, Rheumatologist in Montgomery Co, Lead Physician in PA Women Physicians with Democratic Principles
Dr. Sarah Gleberman, MD, OBGYN resident
Keywords:
abortion
patients
abortion bans
pennsylvania
physicians
pregnancy
josh shapiro
life
state
pregnant
vote
women
care
oz
ban
stand
doctors
protect
obgyn
decision
You too are fantastic physician. Thank you. We are so proud. I'm a city council woman, Helen Gam, I am proud to be here with physicians for Fetterman and Shapiro to talk about the importance today of having actual health care, actual doctors making decisions for women, for young people, for trans individuals, for all folks here in the state of Pennsylvania. I want to thank everyone, everyone for truly coming out here today. And I want to commend all of these physicians who are going to speak out today on this critical issue, can we give them a round of applause. So we're out here today to make clear how high the stakes of this election actually are when it comes to health care. And specifically when it comes to abortion rights. Dr. Oz and Doug Mastriano have been absolutely clear that they will take away our rights. And the 15 week abortion ban that Senator Lindsey Graham put forth this week shows and proves what the GOP plans to do. Their goal is to ban abortions nationwide. We will not let that happen. These doctors and the rest of Pennsylvania is gonna stand in their way. Now, Lindsey Graham will say that he will deliver that, that that 15 week abortion ban if Republicans gained them as the majority, but we will not let Dr. Oz delivered the Senate majority to the GOP. I want to be clear that this rally is in support of two individuals who have always stood strong on health care who have always stood strong on abortion rights, in particular. Meanwhile, then it AWS has refused to come clean about how he'd vote on this dangerous bill. Senator Graham introduced it more than 48 hours ago. And Dr. Oz is dancing around questions the way he can understand critics. Hey, he has still not said how he would vote. We do know that Dr. Oz has repeatedly said that he is 100% pro life. We know that he has called abortion murder. But now he doesn't want to talk about it because he knows what the polls and Pennsylvania say and what the polls say across America that people deserve the right to a full health care options. And that includes abortion. One of the reasons why I'm so proud to be here with all of our doctors and our health care professionals is that doctors take one oath above all to do no harm. Dr. Oz has remained silent as chilling reports roll in about the horrendous harm being caused to individuals to children to children in states that have already criminalized abortion. He refuses to take a stance on that 15 week abortion ban and for years. He has meanwhile sold ridiculous things like diet supplements and miracle pills promising you know ridiculous options to the point that he's had to pay out $5 million dollars and settlements for false advertising. He has falsely advertising yet again. I want to make clear that John Fetterman is a local. What I love about John Fetterman the most is that he started at home. He started in local politics in mayors and building and rebuilding communities from the ground up. I'm very proud as a local council member to have yesterday well, actually to up today introduced a package of legislation that is one of the boldest, most protective laws all across the country to protect the privacy rights and the freedoms the reproductive health care, freedoms and decisions of any individual including providers here in the state of Pennsylvania. And especially here in Philadelphia, we are making sure that we enact one of the strongest privacy laws in the nation to protect patients and providers from disclosing any level of decision making around their own choice to their healthcare and particularly around reproductive reproductive health care. We are enacting legislation that allows cities like Philadelphia to countersue if another state tries to sue us or demand that we use our own resources for laws that they pass that were not in their jurisdiction. We are going to make sure that we let people know that not only is abortion legal here in Pennsylvania, it will stay legal here in Pennsylvania.
John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro is leading that that's age. They are leaving it in partnership with healthcare professionals who are here today. There leading it in partnership with local legislators and state legislators who are running and they're gonna leave it for victory in November. I'm proud to now turn it over to Melissa. Lisa, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.
Good afternoon everyone. My name is Lisa Murkowski and I'm a Democratic candidate running for the 168 Legislative District in Delaware County. I'm running against a man who voted in support of a constitutional amendment to ban abortion in the state of Pennsylvania. And I'm Melissa Serato, running for State House seat 151. And we are proud to say that we are both endorsed by Planned Parenthood. We're so happy to be standing here on the steps of Philadelphia City Hall with physicians for Fetterman and Shapiro. So today Today, we are standing here and thrilled to be united with physicians for Fetterman and Shapiro to let the GOP know that Pennsylvania will not be stripping women of their rights. Republicans have made it clear that if they went to November, they plan to ban abortion in all cases, we cannot let that happen. I am proud to stand here and say that abortion is healthcare. And we look forward to hearing more from these amazing physicians today.
Hello, I'm Dr. Jessica Clemens, and I'm an OB GYN physician. And I've been living and working in Pennsylvania for over 20 years. We're here today, not as Democrats or Republicans but as physicians who understand the importance of electing John Fetterman to the US Senate and Josh Shapiro as our Commonwealth's next governor. We are here to warn voters about the threat to the health and well being of every Pennsylvanian if Mastriano and ahs get elected. I came here today with my fellow physician colleagues from Philadelphia and montgomery county, many of us are OBGYN But you'll also hear from an ER doctor and a rheumatologist about how the changing landscape of reproductive rights is going to affect all of our pregnant patients. If you know me, you know I'm typically soft spoken, shy to speak in public. But this has all changed in the last year's months and certainly in the last week. And yes, at the last minute, I had to find a colleague to cover for me for two hours because I am currently in the middle of a 24 hour labor and delivery shift. These scrubs are for real life. As my kids like to say. I am here because it is time to step forward, it is time to speak up. It is time to stick our necks out because pregnant women and girls lives are in danger with the new legislation aimed at Banning abortion and Pennsylvania and nationwide. It often takes the personal personal conversations with your friends and family members to help them understand how an outright abortion ban will lead to dangerous medical situations. And that pregnancy termination is a part of every OBGYN job. I was raised by a pro choice Democrat father and a Republican mother who only voted for candidates that identified as pro life. They both have very strong Christian values and beliefs. It took my mom until I became an OBGYN physician and telling her story, a story about my IVF patient who had her water break at 16 weeks and had a high fever. And this type of conversation about how difficult and sad it was to talk to my patient about the fact that the only way to save her and her uterus was to deliver her babies. This is the standard of care and OB GYN medicine. It was this these type of physician stories that sparked your quest to understand what abortion bans really mean. My mom will tell you, she has changed her mind. She recently moved back to Pennsylvania from a state with a trigger law. She says she wants her vote to count. She's now a registered Democrat and now only votes for pro choice candidates. If an Evan Jellicle Christian woman in her mid 60s can change her mind, like gaining a better understanding of the need for safe and excessive accessible abortion care than anyone can. The 15 week abortion ban by Senator Lindsey Graham is so misguided on multiple levels and does the opposite of what conservative so called pro life folks claim they want. This will permit the first trimester abortions that are 90% of the cases. And instead it will make it illegal for physicians to save the lives of the mothers and girls who experienced an emergency and are at risk of dying from a hemorrhage or an infection or losing their uterus or fallopian tube. It is not the 1800s it is not 1972 We're not going back. It is 2022. This abortion, excuse me, this proposed national abortion ban is going to backfire. It has mobilized hundreds if not 1000s of physicians, both here with me today. Thank you. In the state of Pennsylvania and nationwide, we will not stand for being told we must let our patients die or suffer the consequences of a pregnancy complication. We will organize. We will talk to everyone we know our friends, our family members and our patients in order to educate everyone on this horrific path that Mastriano Oz and Senator Graham have dared to try to take us down. We stand here in solidarity with motivation to work the hardest we have ever in a political cycle to get pro choice candidates into office like John Fetterman for US Senate and Josh Shapiro for Pennsylvania Governor and many others on the Pennsylvania ballot this November.
Our patients, our sisters, our daughters, our friends, and some of our own pregnant lives will otherwise be put in peril. Next, I'd like to introduce you Dr. Ben Abella. He's an emergency room physician in Philadelphia, who is on the front lines caring for pregnant patients when they arrive by foot by ambulance or by helicopter with obstetric emergencies. Thank you.
My name is Ben Abella. I'm an emergency physician who's cared for patients in West Penn West Philadelphia for over 16 years. Emergency Departments represent the safety net of our stressed health care system. We are ready to help 24/7 And we're honored to serve our communities. However, I'm here to tell you abortion bans hurt women. Abortion bans hurts families, abortion bans hurt children. Emergency providers are already seeing this in the states that have enacted bans. The reports are tragic. From my own experience, I can share a story among many and how abortions can save lives. Julie was a 23 year old married woman with one child. She was pregnant with her second child and was thrilled to have the opportunity to grow her young family. But something was seriously wrong. She experienced severe sudden abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, so she and her husband came to the emergency room we tagged as Julie with an ectopic pregnancy. That means that Julie's pregnancy had formed in the wrong place in her body, not in the uterus, but rather in the fallopian tube. ectopic pregnancy is common and it can be deadly. Many women with ectopic pregnancy require immediate care before the pregnancy ruptures and leads to serious internal bleeding, even death. We diagnosed Julie with an ectopic pregnancy. She and her husband were terrified. Julia was already bleeding internally and very sick. But with rapid coordination with her gynecology teams were able to give her blood transfusions, resuscitate her and surgically treat the ectopic pregnancy with abortion and save Julie's life. It is important to emphasize ectopic pregnancies will never lead to live births. The only thing they can do is kill or maim the mother and then stage with abortion bans. We're already seeing a cop of care being slowed. Being means being confused and impaired. Hospital lawyers are preventing emergency doctors from activating a topic management unless the patient is truly on death's doorstep. Some women are being discharged without any treatment for fear of legal repercussions. This is shameful. This is tragic. Health care providers say this is unacceptable. This is why total abortion bans such as proposed by candidate for governor Doug Mastriano are so dangerous. Emergency care providers can no longer sit on the sidelines. We must work in a Commonwealth that allows us to practice medicine and save lives without interference from politicians. This is why I believe we must elect Josh Shapiro and protect medical freedom in our Commonwealth. Similarly, legislation has been proposed at the national level to ban abortion at 15 weeks. This is also why we must elect John Fetterman to Senate so that we can protect abortion rates nationwide and protect our ability to practice medicine in a safe and evidence based manner. Thank you
Okay, I didn't have the introduction, but here we go. It's out of order. Now introducing Dr. Alhambra fairy who will speak Oh hombre is a fantastic OB GYN physician will speak from her experiences in OB GYN oncology.
Hi, everyone. Thank you so much. Thank you for being here today. Since the horrific Supreme Court decision in June, I have heard terrifying stories, much as Dr. Bayla said, from colleagues around the country about the fear and confusion that abortions banned that abortion bans have caused and the very real harm they have brought to patients and families. I feel very fortunate to have been able to continue to care for my patients here in Philadelphia. But the future of abortion access in Pennsylvania is uncertain. abortion rights are on the ballot this November more than ever before. I want to be clear, all abortion restrictions are extreme and they are dangerous. They are efforts to control and coerce communities, specifically Black, Brown and indigenous peoples and those trapped in systemic poverty. Abortion bans drive patriarchal white supremacy. Abortion bans also ignored the very real needs of millions of people and their families and their communities. Abortion will always be a key part of comprehensive health care that people need to determine their bodily autonomy to control if and when they will parent and to care for the children they are at ready have as well as to plan the futures they envision for themselves. As physicians, we trust that our patients know their bodies and that they know what they need to live their lives in a way that is safe, healthy and affirmed. There are many reasons that people seek abortions, and every one of those reasons is valid. Every person is unique and complicated and knows what is best for their own life. That's why health care decisions must be left between patients and their physicians.
The introduction of a federal ban this week makes it crystal clear that anti abortion extremists are not finished. We need politicians who will fight to protect abortion rights in Harrisburg and in DC. Oz and Mastriano are dangerous for anyone who can become pregnant. John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro have vowed to fight to protect abortion rights. Oz and Mastriano would strip us of our reproductive rights at the state and federal level and they would criminalize abortion. Pennsylvania is already amid a maternal mortality crisis. And Pennsylvania abortion patients and providers face numerous onerous restrictions that make it really difficult to access abortion care as things stand today. These restrictions delay care pushing patients later into pregnancy and increasing their health risks. Imagine Teresa a mother three working two jobs to support her family. Teresa came to me for an abortion because she cannot afford another child. In order for her to access her legal right to an abortion. She must undergo medically unnecessary and frankly offensive counseling. Teresa must wait 24 hours after hearing this counseling for her abortion despite the fact that this goes directly against my best political judgment and her best interest. She must also have unnecessary tests performed and then must receive her care in a facility that meets surgical center standards or restriction that does not improve quality or safety and has caused many of our clinics in Pennsylvania to close their doors. To make matters worse, Teresa has Medicaid health insurance, which does not cover abortion in the state of Pennsylvania due to the federal Hyde amendment. Low income Pennsylvanians like Teresa are often forced to sell belongings, forego food or forego paying rent to pay for their abortions. We need elected politicians who will work to make things better to improve access to reproductive health care and work with physicians to improve the health of pregnant patients. In the Senate John Fetterman will be the 51st vote to scrap the filibuster pass the Women's Health Protection Act and the Hyde Amendment all vital. These are all vital steps to improving abortion rights. Here in Pennsylvania. Please join me in supporting and voting for Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman this November for a healthier Pennsylvania and now it is my pleasure to introduce Karen by sullen who is the Ryan Program Director in Montgomery County and an obstetrician and gynecologist thank you so much.
I'm Dr. Karen phi silan. As obstetrician gynecologist we care for patients throughout their reproductive life. Abortion is an essential part of that care. In fact, our governing body requires us to train residents to perform abortions as part of their graduation requirements. obstetrics and gynecology is a specialty that generally has good outcomes. But when things go bad, they can be catastrophic. Patients may develop complications at any point in their pregnancy, that affect their health and be life threatening. Patients. They also seek abortion for reasons affecting their lives, their livelihood and their ability to care for the children they have. Every case and the associated risks they entail are as unique as the patient's themselves. The ultimate goal of Senator Lindsey Graham's 15, weak federal abortion bans is to criminalize abortions in states that continue to protect protect the rights of women after the overturn Roe turn over Roe vs. Wade. Think about it. If the purpose of overturning Roe versus Wade was to give states the choice of whether to allow abortion, why propose a federal ban to finish the job. Anti choice Republicans won't stop at 15 weeks. efforts to restrict abortion started soon after Roe was passed in 1973. Those restrictions increased exponentially over the past 10 years. At this 15 week ban is approved. They will continue to roll back the gestational age until it's fertilization following Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Idaho. Pennsylvania will be next. Did you ever believe Roe vs. Wade to be overturned in your lifetime? I fear for my patients when I speak to my colleagues across the country who have their hands tied while they're waiting for approval from their hospital administrators on whether patient's condition is life threatening enough to be able to treat. This is the reality of what will come. It's time to take PAC, Pennsylvania. We need to elect Democratic candidates like John Fetterman for US Senate and Josh Shapiro for governor. They have both proven throughout their careers that they will protect abortion access. Mehmet Oz will not protect our rights. Mehmet Oz believes all Abortion is murder, beginning of fertilization with the PA House and Senate advancing Senate Bill 106. This summer. We are one step closer to changes in our state constitution that will criminalize abortion. We need to take back the House and the Senate across Pennsylvania and codify abortion protection into our state constitution. We need to vote blue and use our voices to educate our family, our friends, and our friends on how abortion restrictions harm patients. Keeping abortion legal keeps patients safe and saves lives. It also protects physicians and other health care providers caring for them and allows us to practice medicine without the fear of persecution or prosecution. I'd like to introduce Dr. Kavita vinayakar. She's an obstetrician gynecologist and family planning complex Family Planning Specialists in Philadelphia.
Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Kavita have an acre and I am an obstetrician gynecologist who provides abortion care. I also happen to be 17 Weeks Pregnant today. Last night, I worked overnight on labor and delivery delivering babies which can be joyful at times but it's also a constant reminder of the immense risk that I and other pregnant people take every day. From severe bleeding to life threatening blood pressure disorders to infection. I witnessed how quickly pregnancy can bring an otherwise healthy young person to the brink of death. As someone who is 17 weeks pregnant, I imagine with horror living in a state and a country that robs me of the most basic right to end my pregnancy if I need to, at 17 weeks, I still do not have some basic information about this pregnancy. I do not know whether my pregnancy will result in a live born baby, or whether there are anomalies that are incompatible with life. I do not know if I will develop a complication like my water breaking at this early point in pregnancy, that could put me at risk of severe infection or even death. But what I do know is this, I have a child at home who needs me, and I would give anything to be there for her to be the best mother, I can be for her. And if that meant ending this pregnancy so that I could survive to care for her. I would do that without hesitation. Any government. Any government, state or federal, that prevents me and other pregnant people from making that vital decision is committing a grotesque act of violence. Fortunately, I am not in a position right now when I where I need to make this decision. But as a doctor, I encounter people every day who are if a federal 15 week ban were put into place, I think of all of my patients who had suffer at 15 weeks. Many of my patients don't even know that they're pregnant yet. At 15 weeks, most do not yet know whether their pregnancy has severe anomalies that are incompatible with life. At 15 weeks, many of my patients are still collecting the money and resources currently necessary to have an abortion in the state of Pennsylvania that already creates barriers to care that disproportionately harm low income people and people of color. As a doctor, I don't see my job as political. In fact, being politically active is outside of my comfort zone. But I stand before you all today as a physician, as a mother, as a pregnant woman, because I'm horrified at the thought of a world that denies me and my patients life saving health care.
But instead of feeling completely powerless, I am voting and encouraging anyone I know who can vote in Pennsylvania to vote for Fetterman and Shapiro on November 8. Thank you.
Next, I would like to introduce life Bynum who is an obstetrician gynecologist and fellow in complex family planning.
Hi, I'm Blythe Bynum. I'm gonna walk y'all through a story. June 1 a high of 84. Summer is just beginning and the Phillies beat the Giants. July 4, after more than a year of trying you have in front of you not one but seven positive pregnancy test. Tonight. There are two reasons for fireworks. August 24. After much anticipation, you have your first ultrasound and genetic testing, you frame the ultrasound and plan to tell your loved ones about the pregnancy on Labor Day. July 6, you come back from work. I come back from a weekend full of friends and family and fun. When you come back you have a voicemail from your doctor. There's something abnormal with your results, and they want to discuss it in person. One minute you're in the office overwhelmed by an influx of information and the next year having a needle stuck in your abdomen to get more results. And today, September 15. Your results return that this pregnancy will not be viable after delivery, your 15 weeks and one day pregnant. The Federal abortion ban is the definition of exploiting pregnant people for political gain, and ignores the reality of obstetric care and ignores the fact that patients need time to obtain vital information about their pregnancies from their provider. It ignores the fact that the decision to parent to place a child up for adoption or to have an abortion or not decisions made in a vacuum and establishes an arbitrary timeline that would lead to force birth and pregnancy. People come to my clinic fearful of what may what care might be available from day to day, and they're not wrong. The future of abortion is uncertain for my patients. Republican politicians in DC and in Pennsylvania are poised to pass more patriarchal laws that threaten our health, our safety and our autonomy if they gain a majority. Just as I trust my patients to make a decision that is write for them. We must vote for politicians who have that same trust in their constituents when it comes when someone comes to me and says they don't want to be pregnant, I'm here to support and help them. But to ensure that this continues to be the case we must show up in November and vote for John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro to fight for our reproductive rights. I'm now going to hand the mic over to Dr. Belinda
Birnbaum. Thank you My name is Belinda Birnbaum and I am a rheumatologist in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. I am leading the Pennsylvania section of physician women for democratic principles. And the online Action Group have over 10,000 female doctors who have worked together since 2016. To take action by raising money and our voices for causes we believe in like Planned Parenthood, and candidates we believe in like Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman. We have realized the power of our collective dollars and voices. It is only since the Dobbs decision in June that we have organized by state. Here in Pennsylvania, we have stepped out in real life.
We need to share our stories. We need to educate everyone. We have been canvassing and doing town halls writing op eds and educating about what is at stake this November. We are not public figures. We are not used to public speaking and I am stepping way out of my comfort zone to be here today. I am here to tell you that an abortion ban could have far reaching effects on health care outside of care of a pregnant patient. For instance, methotrexate is a highly effective drug for treating autoimmune diseases. It also can be used to medically abort a pregnancy. In states where abortion is already restricted. physicians and patients have already encountered barriers to using this drug. My patients, many of whom already have anxiety and depression because of their chronic illnesses. Now we're worried about whether they will be able to continue receiving the drugs that is helping them they are asking about stockpiling it or switching to another drug. I have to remind them that they are still safe here in Pennsylvania. But for how long and abortion ban threatens my patients access to medication. I have seen my patients through pregnancies under the most concerning conditions. A few years ago, one of my lupus patients developed pulmonary hypertension. In many cases, we need to recommend not getting pregnant, knowing that a pregnancy can put too much strain on the heart and results in maternal death. My patients cardiologist and obstetrician managed her through her pregnancy, and were able to do it because they knew they could terminate the pregnancy if she got too sick. She delivered a healthy baby in the operating room with the cardiologist monitoring her pulmonary artery pressures via a catheter that was placed into one of the chambers of her heart and a medication to keep her pressure down was continuously infused into her. Being able to collaborate with a team of physicians in this way, represents the best of what modern medicine can do. One of the greatest joys I have as a rheumatologist is when my patient that I have cared for through a pregnancy comes to see me after their delivery. I get to hold their baby and continue to care for them for years and years. If you take away abortion, doctors cannot take advantage of decades of medical advancements. Think about it. A ban on abortion can rob a woman with a chronic disease of becoming a parent.
As a doctor, I'm here to stand up and say hey, the Republicans are responsible for chaos, confusion and devastation that we are seeing across the country. This is exactly the environment anti abortion lawmakers have worked for decades to create. And they now want to bring it to every state in the nation. We will not let that happen. Republicans are contributing to worsening maternal health in our country. Even in patients not contemplating pregnancy. Mehmet Oz and his fellow Republicans are standing in the way of medical progress in making our country sicker. They are trying to make women die. They're impeding our society's collective human Unity. So yes, abortion is on the ballot in Pennsylvania this November. To protect my patients. We need to vote for Democrats in every race from local state and house Senate to the United States Senate and for governor, the stakes could not be higher. I am now honored to introduce our last speaker, Dr. Sarah Lieberman, and she can tell us what the future of medical care might look like here in Pennsylvania.
Hello, everyone, I'm Dr. Sarah Lieberman and OBGYN resident in montgomery county. residency is the next step and training to becoming a physician after graduating medical school. When you start training in your chosen specialty, working at a specific teaching hospital under the close supervision of its attending physicians. The residency training for OBGYN is four years and I'm currently in my third year. So next year, I'll be in the job market, figuring out where in the country I want to live and practice. I'm not from Pennsylvania originally, but I chose to come to residency here because of the quality of training I knew I would receive, especially training and family planning and abortion procedures. After moving to Philadelphia, I quickly learned just how amazing a city it is. I love it here. But not enough to stay in practice. If Pennsylvania becomes a state that does not value my or my patients autonomy. I believe deeply in a woman's right to choose and that the role of physicians is to provide our patients with the information and context to make informed choices about their bodies and their lives.
Learning to do abortion procedures, including second trimester terminations after 15 weeks, means I can offer my patients a full range of choices. It is not only patients who electively choose to enter pregnancy who need these procedures. I started residency just over two years ago, and I have already seen more patients than I can count who had second trimester procedures because of risks to their own health, severe fetal anomalies, or both. Every one of those patients has made me a more competent and compassionate physician and every one of them has been able to choose her own path because of the abortion access Pennsylvania provides.
Sorry about that. If Doug Mastriano was elected and state legislation like HB 106 is passed, it will strip us of our right to abortion and open the door to harsher more restrictive abortion bans. I've heard from many of my medical school classmates and fellow resident physicians in OB GYN and in other fields that they don't feel they can provide their patients the care they need and deserve in a state with restricted abortion access. Instead, they are looking for jobs in states that are committed to protecting full access to abortion services. One resident colleague chose to pursue additional training in a competitive fellowship for gynecologic surgery. When the dog's decision was made public during her application for fellowship, she rearranged her entire preference list of training programs to prioritize those in the states she knew would protect full abortion access. Not only are we worried about legislation on the state level, we want to know that our US senators and congressional representatives have our back when it comes to voting against restricted federal legislation like the proposed 15 week Ban, who we elect in November will determine our right to abortion and whether the Senate can pass such a ban. John Fetterman has shown he cares about Pennsylvania women and is ready to advocate for their reproductive rights on a national level. Josh Shapiro has shown the same on the state government level. However, Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano have shown the opposite. With dangerous and extremist pro life views. AWS has gone as far as to call abortion at any point murder, making it clear that if elected, he will criminalize abortion and said providers and patients to do how many physicians will Pennsylvania lose if our elected officials don't show us they care about our patient safety and autonomy as much as we do? Well, the answer is at least one and you're looking at her. That's why I'm here today. This is the first time I've ever spoken to the media. I'm a lot more comfortable holding a pap smear kit than a microphone. But this is too important to stay quiet. It's about my future, my colleagues future my patients future in Pennsylvania future. Please support me and my colleagues and help us support our patients. Please support the candidates who will fight for reproductive freedom in Pennsylvania and in the United States.
Thank you so much to everyone for coming today. I believe we have time for one or two questions if anyone would like to hear more from me or from any of my physician colleagues. Cardiologist sorry maybe I should have said no free medical advice