Ga. doctors confused over state’s near-total abortion ban
ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A recent survey is shedding light on the confusion and hesitation many doctors in Georgia are experiencing as a result of the state’s near-total abortion ban.
The survey was conducted by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff’s office, with assistance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
>> READ THE FULL SURVEY
The survey reveals that Georgia physicians are often unsure when they are legally allowed to intervene in medical emergencies during pregnancy, resulting in delayed care that could cost lives.
Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, or LIFE Act. bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks of pregnancy.
According to the ACOG, which contributed to the survey, clinicians question, “How sick is sick enough to intervene?”
Georgia doctors reportedly hesitate to determine whether intervention is legally justified.
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One of the doctors cited in the report, Athens-based OB-GYN Dr. Lara Hart, recalled a disturbing case involving a pregnant woman carrying twins. The fetuses had no chance of survival, but doctors before her waited for a life-threatening infection to develop before acting.
“Is it when she just runs a fever,” Hart said. “Is it when she has obvious signs of infection? Is it when she’s on a ventilator in the ICU? Is it when she actually codes? In this situation, you can save the mother, or you can save nobody.”
She described the patient as deteriorating rapidly.
“No one did anything, and she continued to get sicker and sicker. When I came on call, she was on a ventilator in the ICU on the verge of death.”
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The state’s abortion restrictions have come under increased scrutiny following a report by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, which cited leaked findings from Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee. The report revealed that the deaths of two women from abortion-related complications were determined to be preventable.
State Sen. Ed Setzler, one of the authors of the LIFE Act, defended the law following the ProPublica news article, insisting that it provides clear exceptions to protect the lives of pregnant women.
“Her healthcare providers had every mechanism they needed within our law to save her life,” Setzler said.
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However, Hart and others who contributed to the survey argue that the law puts women at risk.
“If we continue along this path, and we have seen stricter and stricter laws be put in place,” Hart said. “All we’re going to see is more women dying.”
Georgia already ranks among the worst states in the country for maternal health outcomes. According to a March of Dimes report, nearly 169 women in the state died from pregnancy-related causes between 2018 and 2021.
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