As an older physician, I was in training while abortions were outlawed. Roe v. Wade had not yet been decided. Quite a number of women sought to have abortions by whichever means were available. Many were preformed by “back-alley’’ practioners, often with disastrous results. I personally tried to care for two women who appeared in extremis at Pennsylvania hospitals where I was in training. Both had suffered from a perforated uterus and peritonitis, and died within hours of arrival. They both had children at home who then became motherless.

Should Roe vs. Wade be overturned with the appointment of a very conservative judge, I believe we would then see a large number of women die from back-alley abortions, similar to what we witnessed years ago. Just think of that.

Dr. Walter Gamble

Georgetown, Maine