Orrin Hatch: “the article describes the plight of the people of Platte County, WY, population 9000, where the only obstetrician has…”

“the article describes the plight of the people of Platte County, WY, population 9000, where the only obstetrician has been forced to give up delivering babies because obstetrics liability insurance is unavailable. The article states: As the only ``baby doctor'' serving a three-county swath of the . . . Wyoming prairie for the past quarter-century, (Dr.) Woods has delivered about 2,500 infants, including almost all the high school athletes in Wheatland, Douglas, Chugwater and other rural communities. But this winter, Woods ended his obstetrical practice. ``I love delivering babies,'' the intense (56-year-old) physician said. ``I really love delivering the babies of women I delivered a couple of decades ago. And I know this community needs an obstetrician. But you can't practice without (malpractice) insurance. And I can't get coverage for deliveries any more.'' This is not news to the rural West. There is an increasing shortage in my home state of Utah as well. Studies by both the Utah Medical Association and the Utah Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists underscore the problem in my state. According to the Utah Medical Association: 50.5 percent of Family Practitioners in Utah have already given up obstetrical services or never practiced obstetrics. Of the remaining 49.5 percent who still deliver babies, 32.7 percent say they plan to stop providing OB services within the next decade. Most plan to stop within the next five years.”