Also: Love in the time of transition [View in browser](   Â
[❤️]( July 3, 2022 Dear Cog reader, In the days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, weâve [published]( [several]( [essays]( about the renewed fight for legal abortion. Dr. Erika Werner [wrote]( one of those pieces, an unflinching look at why abortion is sometimes necessary to save a pregnant personâs life. Werner, a high-risk obstetrician at Tufts Medical Center, describes in haunting detail what happens when a pregnancy goes terribly, terribly wrong: the spikes in blood pressure, the ruptured placentas, even liver failure. I asked Werner â a woman whose life doesnât overflow with free time â why she wrote this essay. She responded that many people still donât understand the ramifications of banning abortion, especially for women who suffer the kinds of pregnancy problems she sees. âI am still hoping that if legislators and citizens understand that women will die because of this change, they will choose a different path,â she wrote in an email. Wernerâs essay brought back a scary memory I hadnât visited in an eternity. About 17 years ago, I was early in my third trimester of pregnancy when my blood pressure suddenly spiked. My obstetrician ordered tests for preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that can be serious, even deadly, for both pregnant people and their babies. I was calm in the doctorâs office. But when I returned to my office, I Googled âpreeclampsiaâ and eventually landed on a memorial page for stillborns who had succumbed to the disease. I fell into a deep well of anxiety for the kicky little creature inside me. A kind editor sent me home. The tests eventually showed I didnât have preeclampsia. The baby I was carrying is now a kind and funny high school rising senior on the cusp of college applications. Chances are â given the late stage of my pregnancy, my good health and excellent local hospitals â my baby and I would have been fine even if Iâd had preeclampsia. But for a few days, I lived in the terrifying abyss of dread and fear. âIt might have been otherwise,â [wrote]( Jane Kenyon, one of my favorite poets. Werner's essay is a reminder of this enduring truth. Thank you for reading. We wish you a relaxing holiday weekend. Kathleen Burge
Editor
[Follow]( Support the news   Must Reads
[I'm a high-risk OB-GYN: Abortion helps me save lives](
This is a skill I never enjoy using. But as a high-risk obstetrician, it is absolutely the thing I do that has saved the most lives, writes Dr. Erika Werner. [Read more.](
[I'm a high-risk OB-GYN: Abortion helps me save lives](
This is a skill I never enjoy using. But as a high-risk obstetrician, it is absolutely the thing I do that has saved the most lives, writes Dr. Erika Werner. [Read more.](
[Love in the time of transition](
I didn't want one beautiful thing about Alex to change, writes Julia Bucci. Then my young daughter weighed in. [Read more.](
[Love in the time of transition](
I didn't want one beautiful thing about Alex to change, writes Julia Bucci. Then my young daughter weighed in. [Read more.](
[The Supreme Court is stacked against democracy](
The racketeering enterprise that is the modern Republican Party has succeeded in defrauding Americans of their right to majority rule, writes Eileen McNamara. [Read more.](
[The Supreme Court is stacked against democracy](
The racketeering enterprise that is the modern Republican Party has succeeded in defrauding Americans of their right to majority rule, writes Eileen McNamara. [Read more.](
[We need more men to fight for abortion rights](
People with uteruses shouldnât be the only ones charged with baring their souls and making themselves vulnerable, writes Laura Tamman. More men need to share their abortion stories. [Read more.](
[We need more men to fight for abortion rights](
People with uteruses shouldnât be the only ones charged with baring their souls and making themselves vulnerable, writes Laura Tamman. More men need to share their abortion stories. [Read more.](
[Indict Donald Trump. Right now](
The Jan. 6 committee has shown just how unhinged Donald Trump was and is, writes Steve Almond. The Department of Justice must indict him. Now. [Read more.](
[Indict Donald Trump. Right now](
The Jan. 6 committee has shown just how unhinged Donald Trump was and is, writes Steve Almond. The Department of Justice must indict him. Now. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "One solution might be to let things fall apart for just one day. Stop working, stop washing, stop doing any of the labor â visible and invisible, paid and unpaid â that makes this country run." "[Democrats knew that Roe was going to end â and were still unprepared]( NBC News. "Stop assuming that, in the heavily gerrymandered South, the worst of us represent the rest of us." "[Why I Stay in Texas, Even Though Itâs Breaking My Heart]( Time. "They would tuck bad Trump thoughts in a box in the corner of their brain somewhere and go on with their duties, clocking in and clocking out as required." "[There Are 11 Types of Donald Trump Enablers. Which One Are You?]( Politico. ICYMI
[My 8-year-old taught me to 'just keep swimming'](
When COVID-19 caught up to Cloe Axelsonâs family in the final weeks of school â with second grade field day at stake â one of her twin daughters reminded her how, even after the past two years, plenty of things are worth fighting for. [Read more.](
[My 8-year-old taught me to 'just keep swimming'](
When COVID-19 caught up to Cloe Axelsonâs family in the final weeks of school â with second grade field day at stake â one of her twin daughters reminded her how, even after the past two years, plenty of things are worth fighting for. [Read more.]( If youâd like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news Â
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