The Dangers of Banning Abortion

South Dakota's passage of a far-reaching ban on abortion fills me with foreboding ["S.D. Abortion Bill Takes Aim at 'Roe'; Senate Ban Does Not Except Rape, Incest," front page, Feb. 23].

Many of us who were around when abortion was illegal know that banning abortion does not eliminate it. Bans drive this procedure underground, increasing the risks of substandard care. Women in South Dakota may be forced to seek illegal abortions, and doctors in the state will be powerless to help them.

If these politicians cared about women's health, they would work to provide safe and legal abortion care and emphasize sex education and access to contraception. Instead, politics is triumphing over medicine, and the state's legislators are endangering the lives of women in South Dakota.

WENDY CHAVKIN

Chair

Board of Physicians for

Reproductive Choice and Health

New York