Letter: Unborn babies need healthy environments in which to grow

Rep. Dan Newhouse:

The day after the American Health Care Act was published, 12 professional associations released statements in strong opposition. You will get a chance to vote on the bill when it comes back to the House from the Senate. I would strongly encourage you to look at the provisions as an empathetic person, and not just as a political official.

In the 25 years that I have been a labor and delivery nurse, all expenses related to pregnancy have been covered by Medicaid for uninsured or underinsured women. We see very few patients who have not had at least some prenatal care, and yet we are 33rd worst out of 179 developed nations for maternal mortality, and are the fifth worst for infant mortality.

I submit that this is not the time to decrease these benefits. Under the AHCA, pregnancy can be excluded as a pre-existing condition, which will eliminate future coverage of any kind in the states adopting this provision.

I would like to ask: In what can we invest that is more important than giving an unborn baby a healthy environment in which to grow and a healthy, caring mom?

This story was originally published June 13, 2017 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Letter: Unborn babies need healthy environments in which to grow."