WILSON, N.C. — Oklahoma’s governor signed an anti-abortion law last week, making it the strictest abortion ban in the country.
Oklahoma now has the strictest abortion ban in the country as the fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance
Dr. Susan Bane, an OB-GYN against abortions, works at a clinic to help women deal with unintended pregnancies
Bane grew up Catholic and says faith plays a huge role in her approach to medicine
Abortion-rights groups, like Planned Parenthood, fear this is the beginning of a domino effect that will spread across the U.S. if Roe v. Wade falls.
Dr. Susan Bane has been in practice for about 25 years. She no longer delivers babies or does surgeries. Her focus now is helping women make the choice to keep their unplanned pregnancy.
Bane, who is part of the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, is now medical director at Choices Women’s Center. She grew up Catholic and says faith plays a huge role in her approach to medicine, as early as her first year of residency after graduating from medical school.
“I was on call, and we had a patient who came in and she was pregnant with a baby with Down syndrome, and I got called to start a termination,” Bane said. “It was about midnight, and I called my chief resident who oversaw me, and I just said, ‘I’m not comfortable taking care of these two patients, and ending the life of one of them. It goes against what my sacred duty as a physician is.’ And he respected that.”
The future of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its final ruling by early July after a leaked draft showed the court is likely to overturn it, a move Bane welcomes.
I want to care for both of them. And when I think about what medicine is for, medicine is for optimizing health, and well-being and wholeness.“I want the best care possible for my patients. And I have two patients: I have a woman who is pregnant, and I have her pre-born child,” Bane said. “I want to care for both of them. And when I think about what medicine is for, medicine is for optimizing health, and well-being and wholeness.”
While Bane understands the criticism from abortion-rights supporters, she stands firm in her point of view, even if a woman has complications with her pregnancy.
“Our ultimate goal is hopefully to save them both,” Bane said. “If she’s previable, meaning the baby can’t survive, what we try to do is, unfortunately, sometimes we have to separate the mother and the baby. But we can do it in a way that brings respect and dignity to the baby because we know that that pre-born child is also going to likely lose its life, but we can do it in a way where we do an induction. And the family can hold the baby, can grieve and the baby can be treated with respect.”
She believes in female empowerment on issues, such as contraception or who they marry, but she draws the line at Roe v. Wade.
“As a pro-life obstetrician, I do not want to do anything that will intentionally or directly harm my patient, and abortion does that to one of my patients. And so I have the right of conscience to be able not to participate in that procedure,” she said.
Bane is married and has three children, including a child with special needs. In 2019, she went to Washington, D.C., to attend the Right to Life March, which is part of the anti-abortion movement. And then the next day, she went to the Women’s March. She says she wants to empower women by making sure they don’t rely on abortion.
