Sarah Fister Gale, Salon: "Santorum’s policies would have killed my daughter"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 12:37 PM 07:09:01 GMT-0800
Santorum’s policies would have killed my daughter
Without amniocentesis, her rare disease would have gone untreated and she would have likely died at birth
By Sarah Fister Gale

http://www.salon.com/2012/02/21/santorum_amnio_open2012/



Next month, my daughter Ella will turn 11. She’s a beautiful girl, with blond hair and green eyes. She’s an amazing artist, a brilliant writer, and she can do the splits without even warming up.

And if I hadn’t had an amniocentesis, she would have died the day she was born.

Just over 11 years ago, I received a call from my obstetrician’s assistant to let me know that there was an anomaly in my recent blood test. “It’s probably just a testing error,” she assured me.

But when I returned the following week to have the blood test redone, the anomaly showed up again. There was a foreign antibody in my blood stream that shouldn’t have been there. I was six months pregnant, and up to that point my pregnancy had been completely normal.

[RC]

1. Why do we let politicians and insurance companies practice medicine in this country?

Isn't there laws against practicing medicine without a license? That is indeed what they are doing.

Rather than turning to my local politician for prenatal advice, I followed the guidance of my obstetrician, who sent me to a perinatologist, who recommended I have an amniocentesis. Because he had a medical degree and years of experience treating pregnant women, I followed his recommendation.

[xxqqqzme]

2. I don't understand this either.

I don't understand why the AMA (I know it is a conservative org) isn't complaining about these legislated procedures.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

3. perhaps they are and we just don't hear about it

I'm sure many medical professionals are against the system...but it would take a large majority of organized protest to make it to our ears.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

4. this guy wants to be a murderer.

Of women. And children. No biggie--women are incubators, not human beings. Children...well, in the dark ages, infant mortality was high; no worries, though; that's why birth control must be outlawed.

[area51]

6. +1

If conservatives really cared about people dying, they'd be fighting for single-payer health care.

[indepat]

5. The religiously insane must not give a diddledy-damn how many would die

needlessly through implementation of their warped religiousity.

[Skittles]

7. CORRECT

it's all COLLATERAL DAMAGE to them