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Lack of abortion access troubles Guam's 1st female governor
Source: Associated Press
Lack of abortion access troubles Guam's 1st female governor
By CALEB JONES
June 7, 2019
HONOLULU (AP) — Lourdes Leon Guerrero vigorously defended abortion rights as she campaigned to become the first female governor of Guam. She won, but now no doctors are willing to perform the procedure she fought so hard to defend.
The last abortion provider in the heavily Catholic U.S. territory retired in May 2018. That’s forcing women seeking to end their pregnancies to fly thousands of miles from the remote Pacific island — a costly and sometimes prohibitive step.
“I truly believe that women should have control of their bodies,” Gov. Guerrero, a former nurse, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday. “I’m very sad and very nervous about what’s happening across the nation.”
Several conservative states like Alabama and Missouri have passed tough abortion restrictions as they take aim at the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion across the United States.
Guam’s law , which Guerrero described as “very restrictive,” allows abortion, but doctors also have the legal right to deny services unless it’s a medical emergency. Abortions are allowed within 13 weeks, but anyone who terminates a pregnancy without help from a doctor can be charged with a felony.
-snip-
By CALEB JONES
June 7, 2019
HONOLULU (AP) — Lourdes Leon Guerrero vigorously defended abortion rights as she campaigned to become the first female governor of Guam. She won, but now no doctors are willing to perform the procedure she fought so hard to defend.
The last abortion provider in the heavily Catholic U.S. territory retired in May 2018. That’s forcing women seeking to end their pregnancies to fly thousands of miles from the remote Pacific island — a costly and sometimes prohibitive step.
“I truly believe that women should have control of their bodies,” Gov. Guerrero, a former nurse, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday. “I’m very sad and very nervous about what’s happening across the nation.”
Several conservative states like Alabama and Missouri have passed tough abortion restrictions as they take aim at the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion across the United States.
Guam’s law , which Guerrero described as “very restrictive,” allows abortion, but doctors also have the legal right to deny services unless it’s a medical emergency. Abortions are allowed within 13 weeks, but anyone who terminates a pregnancy without help from a doctor can be charged with a felony.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/c2537d19a3024554baa5e617d5381c9c
This undated photo provided Thursday, June 6, 2019, by the Office of the Governor of Guam shows Guam Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero. The first female governor of Guam says she's concerned that a lack of abortion access in the U.S. territory means women will be forced to seek illegal or dangerous alternatives. (Office of the Governor of Guam via AP)
