US state abortion ban exemptions aren’t vague by accident. Uncertainty is the point | Judith Levine

Anti-choice statutes are designed to keep health providers fearful of running afoul of the law. Women suffer for it

Anyone who has lived under the control of an abusive partner or parent knows that the problem is not just what's prohibited. It's what you're unsure is prohibited. The prospect of punishment instills fear. Vagueness about what will be punished promotes caution. Just in case, the teenager doesn't hang out with certain friends. The teacher deletes the controversial book from the curriculum.

The doctor decides not to perform an abortion when the patient's health or life is at risk, but, maybe, not imminently so.

Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books