Washington D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff released today a new report finding that Georgia’s six-week abortion ban threatens to worsen the State’s already severe OGBYN shortage.
Today, Sen. Ossoff released new findings from his ongoing investigation into the impacts of Georgia’s 6-week abortion ban.
As part of the investigation, Sen. Ossoff’s office conducted a survey of Georgia OBGYNs, with assistance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). As part of the survey, Georgia OBGYNs detailed how the ban undermined their ability to provide comprehensive reproductive care, created fear of prosecution for treating pregnancy-related emergencies, and drove colleagues to either leave the State or stop practicing obstetrics altogether.
In response to the survey, 14 Georgia OBGYNs reported they are considering leaving the State because of the abortion ban, citing an inability to provide the care their patients need and concerns over legal risk. Eleven additional respondents reported they personally know a colleague who has already left Georgia due to the ban.
In a shocking account, Dr. Jane Ellis, a Georgia OBGYN, shared that a colleague consulted legal counsel to try to prematurely terminate her employment contract and flee the State.
Some doctors in the survey expressed that they felt forced to choose between risking criminal prosecution and committing medical malpractice when treating emergency complications in pregnancy. One physician described the stress of navigating life-threatening scenarios while awaiting legal or judicial approval to act, warning that such delays jeopardize patient care.
The survey also found that the ban is causing some doctors to reconsider their careers entirely. Five OBGYNs reported they are considering transitioning away from obstetric care, and several said they knew colleagues who had already done so.
Doctors who have chosen to remain in Georgia reported significant difficulty recruiting new colleagues. Several said that talented medical residents, including their own family members, are now unwilling to work in Georgia.
In a harrowing revelation, doctors also warned that the ban is impeding Georgia’s ability to train the next generation of physicians. 29 OBGYNs expressed concern that residents and fellows are unable to receive full-spectrum obstetric training under current law, making it more difficult to prepare young doctors to care for women across the State.
The survey also highlighted the particular strain the ban places on rural communities, where even before the law took effect, half of Georgia counties had no practicing OBGYN. Physicians reported that the ban is further reducing access to care in these areas and weakening the State’s ability to recruit new medical professionals.
The survey comes as part of Sen. Ossoff’s continued investigation exposing the health impacts of Georgia’s abortion ban.
Last month, as part of the same survey, 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, and in April, survey results found 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 doctors’ 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, OBGYN doctors testified that women in Georgia are being denied care during miscarriages and that a patient had gone into sepsis because of Georgia’s abortion ban, which they testified has hindered OBGYNs’ 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 abortion ban is forcing Georgia women to continue high-risk and nonviable pregnancies.
Click here to read the full report.
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