Atlanta, Ga. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff today released a new report in which over a dozen Georgia OBGYNs say they’ve personally observed cases where Georgia’s abortion ban led to injury or even the death of pregnant women.
Today, Sen. Ossoff released new findings from his ongoing investigation into the impacts of Georgia’s 6-week abortion ban, in which Georgia OBGYNs revealed they had personally encountered cases in which Georgia’s six-week abortion ban contributed to a health complication or death of the mother.
As part of the investigation, Sen. Ossoff’s office conducted a survey of Georgia OGBYNs, with assistance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
In the latest survey results, Georgia OBGYNs reported that Georgia’s abortion ban has led to emergency rooms turning away patients having miscarriages, doctors being forced to wait for patients’ condition to deteriorate before terminating pregnancies, and women afraid to seek treatment for complications from abortions induced through medication or obtained out of state.
Dr. Nisha Verma, a Senior Advisor on Reproductive Health Policy and Advocacy at ACOG and board-certified OBGYN providing care in Georgia, explained, “sometimes women are in the process of miscarrying, but the pregnancy still has cardiac activity. Georgia’s law often creates confusion and delays in these situations.”
According to one survey respondent, “[a] patient was rejected from several hospitals before arriving at our hospital for inevitable miscarriage at 10 weeks. She was bleeding heavily…” The doctor reported that eventually, the patient’s exam showed no fetal heart tones, allowing the doctor could perform an abortion without running afoul of Georgia’s abortion law.
Another OBGYN reported having “[s]een at least one person seeking medical termination out of State who then need D&C [dilation and curettage] for incomplete [abortion] and seem to have delayed presenting to care due to concern we would hesitate to/not take care of them.”
The survey comes as part of Sen. Ossoff’s continued investigation exposing the health impacts of Georgia’s abortion ban.
Last month, Sen. Ossoff released a report finding that Georgia doctors are being forced to wait for women to develop life-threatening infections before terminating nonviable pregnancies due to the State of Georgia’s abortion ban.
In March, during an oversight session hosted by Sen. Ossoff, two Georgia women described how Georgia’s abortion ban impeded their doctor’s abilities to provide medical care, leading to life-threatening infections.
Last year, as Chair of the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, Sen. Ossoff convened two public hearings at which Georgia women and Georgia OBGYNs testified to the harmful impacts of Georgia’s abortion ban.
In July, OB-GYN doctors testified that women in Georgia are being denied care during miscarriages and gone into sepsis because of Georgia’s abortion ban, which they testified has hindered OGBYNs’ ability to do their jobs and could put them at risk of prosecution.
In September, two patients and an OBGYN testified in Atlanta that the State’s abortionban is forcing Georgia women to continue high-risk and nonviable pregnancies.
Click here to read the new report.
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