Editor,

In this crucial election cycle, voters within the 10th Legislative District should pay special attention to the State Senate race and take a hard look at the voting record of the incumbent Ron Muzzall.

In 2021, as the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health & Long Term Care, Muzzall voted against a bill that ensured that pregnant patients, with critical conditions, receive the most appropriate and timely treatment, regardless of a hospital’s affiliation, be it secular or religious.

The bill, Substitute Senate Bill 5140, prohibits hospitals from turning away patients with serious complications, such as miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, by denying qualified medical professionals the ability to care for them. Failure to treat medical conditions of such severity would be expected to result in irreversible complications or even death. In addition, this bill prevents any hospital from discharging, suspending, disciplining or otherwise discriminating against a health care professional who has provided such services.

Janet St. Clair is running against Muzzall in this state senate election to give the people of the 10th Legislative District the representation that they truly deserve.

Hospitals, as a matter of patient health and safety, should not be allowed to deny or delay timely and appropriate care or penalize qualified medical practitioners for upholding accepted standards of care.

Marshall F. Goldberg, M.D., M.P.H.

Retired obstetrician-gynecologist

Oak Harbor