I once saw a bumper sticker.
Send your son to medical school, it said.
Support my son the lawyer.
Those are fighting words.

For two years I fought,
flew to Washington
with other obstetricians
to lobby our senators
and congressmen
about problems we’re facing
not only with malpractice
but also with access to care
for pregnant women.

We got nowhere.

We talked to a Senator’s aide
about malpractice insurance
and the fact that fewer and fewer
obstetricians
can afford to deliver
babies of poor women.
Thirteen counties in California
don’t have OB care
for poor pregnant women.