Doctors at Democratic event slam new Georgia abortion law

August 12, 2022

Also in today’s edition of Swing State Georgia:

• Herschel stays on message on the economy.

• Abrams talks up casino betting in Georgia.

• College voters get help in Atlanta.

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Georgia Democrats know Stacey Abrams is trailing in recent polls behind Gov. Brian Kemp. But they believe the state’s new restrictive abortion law, which went into effect last month, could change Abrams’ fortunes and the results for a slew of down-ticket Democratic hopefuls.

At a roundtable sponsored by the Democratic Party of Georgia Thursday night, OB-GYNs talked the confusion the law has caused for patients and doctors, as well as the limits the law creates for women experiencing miscarriages or high-risk pregnancies.

“Patients may present saying, ‘I know that I’m sick,’ or, ‘My other doctor said that I’m sick,’ but classifying that and whether or not it will qualify under our law is very challenging,” said Dr. Tiffany Hailstorks, an OB-GYN who is also a member of the Atlanta Reproductive Justice Commission. “They’re not sick enough.”

Another OB-GYN, Dr. Megan Cohen, called the new law “a crime against humanity.”

“One of the most rewarding parts of our job is really being able to usher people through some of the hardest times of their lives. And being able to do so with compassion and with the best medical care that we have,” she said. “And we cannot do that anymore.”

State Sen. Michelle Au, who is an anesthesiologist, also discussed the anxieties she hears among her hospital colleagues, from the E.R. to pediatricians to infertility specialists and OB-GYNs, about patient outcomes and doctors who could be prosecuted under the law.

“It’s the cruelty of it, and how personally you take it, not just because you care about these patients, but because it runs counter to everything we’ve been trained to do our entire professional careers,” she said.

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Gov. Brian Kemp signed HB 481 in 2019 and called the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “a historic victory for life.”

But the latest AJC poll showed the law is unpopular among Georgia voters. Roughly 55% oppose the new restrictions in the law, while 36% support them.

But the most important numbers may be the ones that came later in the poll.

About 42% of voters said they’re more likely to vote for a candidate who wants to protect abortion rights, compared to about 26% who said they’re more likely to support a candidate who stands by the state’s new restrictions.

How will it play out in November? That’s still anybody’s guess. But polling suggests right now that the abortion issue has given a little more urgency to Democratic voters rather than Republicans.

And your Insiders know well how every vote counts in the Swing State of Georgia.

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LISTEN UP. The Friday edition of the Political Georgia podcast is hot and ready for your eager ears.

Your Insiders break down the dueling economic messages this week from Gov. Brian Kemp Stacey Abrams, along with an attack ad against Herschel Walker, and we unpack this week’s listener mail bag.

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BLACK BUSINESS. Herschel Walker visited with Black business leaders at the Republican National Committee’s community center in College Park, Ga. Thursday trying to showcase how the Biden administration has been bad for the economy.