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Tag: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden

  • Oregon Doctor Testifies to U.S. Senate on Idaho’s Abortion Bans – KXL

    Oregon Doctor Testifies to U.S. Senate on Idaho’s Abortion Bans – KXL

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    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. Amelia Huntsberger testified to U. S. Senators,  “I currently live and work in Oregon, but previously practiced medicine in rural Idaho for more than a decade. I was on the advisory board of the Idaho Perinatal Project, that worked to advance the health of moms.”

    The board certified OB/GYN says she and many other doctors who serve mothers have had to move out of Idaho, and to states like Oregon and Washington, after the U. S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

    “Idaho enacted some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country, without exceptions to allow doctors to act to preserve a pregnant patient’s health.  Not even to prevent harm to organs or fertility, unless an abortion is necessary to prevent death.   The lawmakers who created these bills knew it. The cruelty was built in.”

    She added, “Doctors in Idaho like me tried to raise awareness of the harm from the abortion bans. I naively thought that if people just understood the laws, they’d change them.  As a result of talking publicly about abortion, we began to fear for the safety of our family. Just over a year ago, we packed our things and moved to Oregon.”

    Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden is the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which held a hearing about the impacts on women’s health.

    He said, “Women are miscarrying, suffering life threatening blood loss, losing their ability to bear future children.  They are dying because they were denied emergency medical care that they needed. Doctors are being targeted or forced to relocate to states where they can practice basic medicine.”

    Wyden described horrific scenes and agonizing choices.  “A woman may come into the emergency room with an ectopic pregnancy or bleeding out from a miscarriage.  Some states that have passed abortion bans into law claim that they contain exceptions for emergency care if a woman’s life is at risk. In reality, these exceptions, are forcing doctors to play lawyer and lawyers to play doctor.”

    Outside the hearing on the Capitol steps, Washington U. S. Senator Patty Murray said, “We should all refuse to accept a status quo in America where pregnant women are dying.”

     

     

     

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    Annette Newell

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  • More Communities Risk Becoming Maternity Deserts – KXL

    More Communities Risk Becoming Maternity Deserts – KXL

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    FILE – The toes of a baby peek out of a blanket at a hospital in McAllen, Texas. On Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the increase of U.S. infant mortality rate to 3% in 2022 — a rare increase in a death statistic that has been generally been falling for decades. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

    BAKER CITY, Ore. — It’s a problem becoming more common across America. A community risks becoming a maternity desert. That means nowhere nearby for expecting mothers to deliver their babies. Here’s how it happened in Oregon.

    First, Legacy Health closed its maternity unit in Gresham.  But community and state regulator pressure helped to overturn the decision.  But those depending on St. Alphonsus Health System were not as lucky.

    “Last summer, St. Alphonsus in Baker City announced that it would be closing its labor and delivery units in just 4 weeks,” said Oregon U. S. Senator Ron Wyden.

    He and his staff joined in local efforts to push back, trying to get more time. They managed to get an additional month, but it still left Baker City families in a very precarious position.  “You have to drive at least 45 miles further to the next hospital to give birth,  on roads that can sometimes be impassable because of winter weather or summer wildfires.”

    Wyden and other lawmakers are proposing a federal Keep Obstetrics Local Act. It would use Medicaid to provide enhanced federal funding to help hospitals keep their doors open. Also, it offers, “Standby payments. Those hospitals can maintain appropriate services. And staffing levels around the clock, even when the volume of births is low.”

     

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    Annette Newell

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  • Oregon Senator Says Voters Sent Message in Primary Election – KXL

    Oregon Senator Says Voters Sent Message in Primary Election – KXL

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    PORTLAND, Ore.– Oregon held its primary elections this week, and voters sent a clear message, according to the state’s senior U.S. Senator, Ron Wyden.

    “Let’s talk about what really emerged as the, the top issue, which was essentially this whole question of our district attorney, the whole law enforcement picture. And it seems to me what voters are now saying is that position and others are really about two priorities. Folks in our community want to feel safe in their homes and on the streets.”

    He also heard it in a hearing about fentanyl on Capitol Hill this week, he says.

    “In matters like prevention and treatment, we had a hearing on new strategies for treatment of fentanyl.  But I think that’s going to be the new kind of focus in our community is people want to know that they’ll be safer in their homes and on the streets, and at the same time they want, justice for all.  And that means a strong focus on prevention and treatment.”

    We also asked him to comment on the race for who is likely to replace Congressman Earl Blumenauer, who’s been in office for almost, 28 years.

    “Earl Blumenauer has had a storied career. If you look particularly in areas like mass transit and transportation, they go right to the heart of part of what we need to do in terms of fighting the climate crisis. I was the congressman from that area prior to having the honor of being elected in the Senate, so I know that it is a district where folks feel very passionately about the future of Portland, future of our state.   In areas like cannabis where he’s brought very sensible, practical approaches to a field where there’s a lot of passion and emotion.   And he has made a great contribution to our state in many areas.”

    Since Blumenauer’s district is a blue one, it is very likely that the winner of the primary is going to be our next Congresswoman, Dr. Maxine Dexter.

    “I think Dr. Dexter is going to be a terrific advocate for the district and the House of Representatives. I’ve known her for years. Health care has always been my specialty going back to the days as director of the great, Gray Panthers. And I think she’s going to do an outstanding job. I’ve talked to her frequently in the last a few days, and I think she’s going to make Oregon and the district proud.  My mom came to all our basketball games, and she said afterwards, dear, I know you’re going out with your friends, make sure you’re running with the right crowd.  When you talk about Earl Blumenauer and Maxine Dexter, you’re talking about the right crowd.”

    What does he think that some of the results that we saw in Oregon forecast for November?

    “We’re going to be seeing a campaign that is really going to focus on some economic, issues, particularly things like holding down the cost of drugs and energy and the like, and really protecting our democracy.”

    You can hear Wyden’s comments on “Speaking Freely with Annette Newell,” Sunday morning at 7 on KXL and 6 AM on KINK.

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    Annette Newell

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