Caught Between Good Medicine and Bad Law

Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade and Georgia’s ban on abortion, physicians have been “caught between good medicine and bad law,” says Dr. John Resneck, President of the American Medical Association. 
​Physicians caring for women in Georgia struggle to meet their ethical duties to patients’ health and well-being, while attempting to comply with reckless government interference in the practice of medicine that is dangerous to the health of their patients.

“The AMA is steadfastly opposed to governmental interference in the practice of medicine, especially for well-established, medically necessary treatments,” added Dr. Resneck.  Patients and physicians need assurances that they won’t be accused of crimes for medically necessary treatment. 
Unfortunately, this is the post-Dobbs world we now face. The fact that medically necessary treatment can be criminalized speaks volumes about these misguided abortion laws.

Arbitrary and Unscientific Timelines imposed
In the chaos created by Republican politicians, physicians and other health care professionals must attempt to comply with vague, restrictive, complex and conflicting state laws that interfere in the practice of medicine. Georgia’s move from a 12-week abortion ban to a 6-week ban can often be before a woman even knows she is pregnant. By the time a woman is considered six weeks pregnant, she would have had two weeks, at most, to realize it. This means that just two weeks after a missed period, a woman is six weeks pregnant. Women with irregular periods are particularly at risk of not realizing they are pregnant.
Georgia’s “heartbeat law” restricts abortion if fetal cardiac activity can be identified. At 5 weeks, a health care provider would not be able to use an ultrasound to confirm that a pregnancy is viable, because there would be no fetal cardiac activity yet, which leaves a woman “a very small window in which to confirm pregnancy,” says Dr. Michael Belmonte, an obstetrician-gynecologist and fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

​Legal Penalties for Health Professionals
Recent changes in abortion laws have sown confusion that has prompted payers, pharmacies and medical offices to restrict the use of medically necessary treatments.  Pharmacists have resisted filling needed medications on the basis that they could be used off-label for pregnancy termination, and they could face criminal charges. 
The Supreme Court has been asked to impose legal consequences on physicians providing emergency care for pregnant patients experiencing critical life-threatening complications in emergency rooms. Women have had to go to court to ask for lifesaving cancer treatment that could result in harm to the fetus, yet without it, the mother could die. 
While Republican politicians boldly assure women that their life will be respected over that of the fetus, they are all working diligently in Congress to pass HR431 The Life at Conception Act, which establishes personhood for the fetus at conception, putting both the mother and her physician at risk as they “criminalize any parties that disrupt that process.” A chilling effect on abortion bans can be seen in the 9.5% reduction of residency applications in Georgia. 
Physicians and Democrats are fighting for women’s rights for safe and accessible reproductive care. Make sure your representative joins them in this battle for democracy and a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body.