A SECOND OPINION
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I have now spent four years as the only female physician ever to sit in the Kentucky State Senate . Often , I am asked what the biggest difference is between practicing medicine and serving in the Senate . My answer to that question is always the same : in medicine , the truth matters . In politics it boils down to who says something the loudest and the most often , regardless of the “ truth .”
Unlike any other expert in her field , the majority party did not assign me to the Health Services Committee upon my election . In order to get a seat on the Health and Welfare Committee , my party caucus chair said that actual votes had to be exchanged . I am the only board-certified physician in the state who serves in the Kentucky State Legislature .
I ’ ve learned something about the outside forces that are dictating the practice of medicine in the state of Kentucky . When you think about who is sponsoring and funding this type of legislation , and who the medical experts are , who are being brought into our state to testify against our own physician leadership – it ’ s scary . It ’ s worrying to consider the ramifications of the decisions made based on these “ experts .”
My first experience with the disconnect between what I consider “ actual ” medicine and politics came in my first session with Senate Bill 9 , the “ baby born alive bill .” Basically , the bill required physicians to treat any infant born alive by offering both nutritional and medical management , and made it a felony to withhold care . The bill passed through the Veterans , Military Affairs , & Public Protection Committee and the Judiciary Committee before being voted on the floor . Even though the resulting law only affected health care practitioners , the bill was never heard in the Health Services Committee . This was my first lesson about the intersection of law and medicine . It did not matter to anyone
A View from The Senate by KAREN BERG , MD
( other than the governor who vetoed the bill on this basis ) that this top priority Senate bill was completely unnecessary . It was already illegal to deny health care to an alive infant in this state , and there had never been a complaint to the contrary .
What I learned from that experience was that common sense didn ’ t matter . No matter that it was already illegal to deny care , no matter that there had never been a reported instance in this state , we needed a new law to make sure we criminalized killing alive born infants and we got it . It was during that time that I became aware that many physicians , by contract , are not allowed to testify in Frankfort . I also learned not to get upset about passing laws that did nothing . I was told that was part of “ politics ,” and almost better than passing laws that actually changed the status quo .
House Bill 3 in 2022 was my next big learning experience . House Bill 3 contained an extensive array of requirements for health care providers in this state , including restricted access to medication assisted pregnancy termination . It required a public provider registry for physicians who dispense these medications , among a litany of other medically unnecessary constraints . In its original form , this bill would have required women who miscarry to literally remove products of conceptions from the toilet for burial or cremation . It required both a birth certificate and death certificate for all conceptions . Not a single physician practicing in this state testified in favor of this “ omnibus women ’ s health bill ” in the process of it becoming the law . The Director of Kentucky Right to Life read a letter from her cell phone to the committee . This letter was reportedly written by an ER physician who worked in Indiana ; he stated that medication assisted abortion is unsafe because of increased visits to the ER with complaints primarily of heavy vaginal bleeding . Every testimony from providers in this state was against the bill . Speaking in favor of the bill were non-medical representatives from Americans United for Life , a pro-life legal and political organization , along with representa-
32 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE OPINION