Written by Dr. Nicole King, an anesthesiologist, intensivist, and author who spent years specializing in high-risk obstetrical care.
As an anesthesiologist and critical care physician, my work has long focused on high-risk obstetrical cases. This passion began during my service in the Navy and followed me through civilian fellowship and into practice. For three years, I was one of two attending physicians staffing a high-risk cardiac obstetrical clinic at a large tertiary center. During that time, I cared for pregnant patients with serious cardiac disease, developing intricate labor and delivery plans to optimize their safety and that of their fetus. Sometimes, when no safe path forward existed, we advised termination to protect the patient’s life.
Our role was never to judge, impose personal beliefs, or strip autonomy from our patients. We were their safety net, ensuring they had medical expertise, comfort, and support as they made the best decisions for themselves.
There was never a legal question about doing the right thing for our patients. Patient health and well-being remained our priority without government interference.
That was before Roe fell.
In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision, as state-level trigger laws and abortion bans took effect, doctors across the country—especially in states like Kentucky—were left with more questions than answers. Legal restrictions were vague, medically uninformed, and devoid of the nuance necessary for real-world, high-risk cases. Even in states with supposed exceptions for the “life or life-limiting injury” of the mother, like in Kentucky, the ambiguity was chilling. What does that actually mean? Who gets to decide?
The reality is this: Doctors in restricted states like Kentucky now work in an impossible gray area, balancing our duty to save lives against the threat of prosecution. In cases where a patient is hemorrhaging or in critical distress, we are often forced to wait until their condition deteriorates further—sometimes dangerously—before intervening. We are stuck between doing what is right and doing what is legal.
Since the fall of Roe, medical professionals like me have fought—personally, professionally, and politically—to protect our patients and the careers we spent decades building. In 2023 and 2024, we made significant strides in states that moved to enshrine reproductive rights in their constitutions. Even in Kentucky, where progress has been slower, voters rejected an amendment that would have permanently banned abortion rights from future consideration. But these victories have not stopped the worsening crisis in women’s healthcare.
Today, in restrictive states, pregnant patients experiencing medical emergencies are often told to wait—sometimes at home, sometimes in a hospital—for fetal cardiac activity to stop before doctors can act. This is not just cruel; it is medically dangerous. Delayed care increases the risk of severe blood loss, uterine infection, multi-organ failure, and death.
For every story that makes headlines—of a woman forced to carry a nonviable pregnancy or denied lifesaving care—there are countless others that remain hidden. Many of these untold stories belong to the people we see everyday: the woman sitting beside you at church, the mother in front of you at the grocery store, the teenager behind you in traffic. These silent stories matter.
Because one day, that silence could find you or someone you love.
In that moment, when access to necessary care is no longer theoretical but personal, the debate won’t be about politics or rhetoric. It will be about survival. And the ability to receive treatment won’t be complicated by policy discussions—it will be denied outright, even if it means suffering or death.
This is why we must continue to fight. Not just for the patients who are able to speak out, but for the countless others suffering in silence, trapped by unjust laws.
When I practiced medicine in the Navy, leadership trusted our expertise. There was no political interference in life-or-death medical decisions. Today, that safety net is gone. Doctors are left on their own, navigating vague and dangerous laws while trying to save lives.
Without change—without protections for both patients and providers—there is no safe way forward.
And for far too many, that is already proving deadly.
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Dr. Nicole King is an anesthesiologist, intensivist, and author who spent years specializing in high-risk obstetrical care. She is a Navy Veteran, partner and mother who spends her time working, actively advocating and spending time with her large, blended family.