"Dunnavant delivers" disappointment
“Dunnavant delivers” is Dr. Siobhan S. Dunnavant’s slogan as she campaigns for re-election to the Virginia State Senate, but does she actually deliver for anyone but Planned Parenthood?
Dunnavant believes that elective abortion should be unrestricted until week 15 of pregnancy, or later in cases of rape, incest, life of the mother, and severe fetal anomalies. In a Washington Post interview, she claims to strive to “find common ground, ” but in reality, Dunnavant is using a political guise to justify abandoning the Hippocratic Oath to cling to the power of public office.
She’s highly educated, however, and should understand basic biology. Princeton notes that life begins at fertilization, and 96% of biologists agree according to a 2018 University of Chicago survey. Any other benchmark is arbitrary and dangerous.
People are also reading…
If humans are to have any value, every human must be equally valued or a hierarchical, classist system will reign. While life of the mother care is and should be protected, Dunnavant’s rape, incest, and severe fetal anomaly exceptions perpetuate systematic oppression by producing “grades” of human beings based on conception circumstances, age, and perceived abilities.
If Dunnavant wanted to actually provide compassionate, evidence-based Hippocratic care, she would support post-assault counseling and perinatal hospice programs. These non-violent alternatives must be the crux of care for upstanding physicians.
It is essential that politicians who wish to develop comprehensive and compelling abortion policy return to the science of the issue. As an obstetrician-gynecologist and state senator, Dunnavant holds a position with opportunity to develop such policy but has chosen to give up science — and people — for politics.
Clearly, Dunnavant’s priorities have gone awry since taking the Hippocratic Oath. It’s time she “delivered” for all babies, not just the ones her subjective standards say are worthy of life.'
Gavin Oxley, Virginias regional coordinator, Students for Life of America.
Barboursville.
Richmond Rally in Support of Roe v. Wade
Hundreds march down Cary St. in Richmond, Va. during a rally on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Reproductive rights activists and supporters gathered in front of the courthouse in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Andrea Hernandez, of Richmond, chants along with hundreds gathered downtown Richmond on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Douglas Freeman junior Ishita Bakshi speaks at a rally in downtown Richmond, Va. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
RaeAnn Roca Pickett, communications director for The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, gets the crowd fired up as hundreds gather for a rally in downtown Richmond, Va. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Steph Nash, with Whole Woman's Health Alliance, speaks at a rally held in downtown Richmond, Va. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Protesters rally in Richmond in May 2022 in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft suggesting the Supreme Court would reverse Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court released the decision on June 24, 2022.
Hundreds march down Cary St. in Richmond, Va. during a rally on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Reproductive rights activists and supporters gathered in front of the courthouse in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Kate Barnes, of Richmond, joins reproductive rights activists and supporters for a rally in downtown Richmond, Va. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
A large crowd gathers in downtown Richmond, Va. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 for a rally in reaction to the leaking of an initial draft by Justice Samuel Alito that would reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
