Georgia's Health Care in Jeopardy

Georgia's Subcommittee Field Hearing acknowledges ongoing challenges of abortion bans- sharing the stories of women denied and prevented from accessing critical medical care.

By Audrey Hwang September 17, 2024

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SUBJECT: How Georgia’s Abortion Ban Harms Women: Health Care in Jeopardy

DATE: September 16th, 2024

OVERVIEW: Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the state of Georgia implemented a ban on abortions after six weeks of gestation, a period by which the majority of women are often unaware of their pregnancy. The Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law met to hear testimonies discussing how Georgia’s abortion bans affected Georgia women and doctors.

HEARING RECORDING LINK: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee activity/hearings/how-Georgias-abortion-ban-harms-women-health-care-in-jeopardy

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Witnesses

  • Mckenzie Kulik, Public Health Researcher
  • Yasmein Ziyad
  • Carrie Cwiak, MD, MPH, Board Certified OB/GYN 

Key Themes & Highlights

  • Republican Concerns:
    • State Rights: The Republican chairman argued that regulation of abortion bans is not contingent on the Bills of Rights and, therefore should be subject to the individual legislation of state courts. Argued that determinants within the state should be represented equally and be implemented with concern for the political consensus, contending it is not within the circle of federal legislative involvement.
    • Alternative Care: Republicans emphasized the availability of alternative care options for women, arguing that comprehensive support systems, like adoption services and family planning, should be highlighted and provided with more resources as an alternative to abortion.
    • Medical Perspectives: Republicans raise concerns about how some medical professionals present the impacts of abortion bans, suggesting that these narratives could be biased or not fully representative of all medical opinions.
  • Democratic Concerns:
    • Reproductive Autonomy: Many Democrats raised the belief that access to abortion services is a fundamental right that is essential to the bodily and reproductive autonomy of women.
    • Political Motivations: Democrats were concerned about how images or information on abortion bans may be publically misconstrued to push specific political agendas that undermine bodily autonomy and restrict reproductive rights of women.
    • Impact on Women’s Health: Democrats emphasized how abortion bans jeopardize women’s health by restricting access to necessary medical care, leading to potential complications and negative health outcomes.  
  • Witness Testimonies:
    • Ms. Mackenzie Kulik: Argues that Georgia didn’t care that the safest thing they could have done for her and the baby was to perform an abortion. Georgia women should not have to leave the state to get the best advice on how to care for themselves and their children. 
    • Ms. Yasmein Ziyad: Suffered through painful vaginal tissue removal from a doctor in Georgia as an effect of a failed abortion. Argues that Georgia's abortion ban prevents patients from receiving the best care that they deserve from their physicians.
    • Dr. Carrie Cwiak States that the abortion ban has increased maternal mortality and poor health outcomes. Claims that physicians have no choice but to turn away patients in need of essential healthcare, creating needless risks to their health.
  • Contentious Points:
    • Republicans: Challenged the interpretation of medical health risks and endorsed the transition of reproductive rights such as abortion bans to the authority of the states. They apprised that federal initiatives should focus on the allocation of alternative family planning to supplement medical demands for abortion services. 
    • Democrats: Examined considerations of economic, political, social, and mental disparities that have arisen from the banning of abortion- issuing for abortion to be recognized as a medically necessary service. Democrats condemned the actions of states that did not take legal and medical responsibility for pregnant patients whose physical health was compromised by local physicians and health care providers. 
  • Key Discussions:
    • Doctors not at Fault: Neither Kulik nor Ziyad accused the doctors of withholding them from the care they needed but rather the state for holding the hand of physicians behind their backs.
    • Exceptions aren’t Working: Many SA victims don’t go to law enforcement out of fear. Patients should be able to go to their doctors for care without involving law enforcement. Even if the police aren’t involved, it doesn't change the fact that they still need care.
    • High-Risk Pregnancies: Women with high-risk pregnancies are restricted from the health care that they need with the ban. Their only other options are to risk getting even more sick or getting an abortion done in another state.

In-Depth Notes

  • Ms. Mackenzie Kulik testifies about her experience with the abortion process. Her baby suffered from a spinal tube disorder, and Kulik had oligohydramnios/borderline Anhydramninos,  meaning she did not have enough amniotic fluids for her baby. If Kulik’s water broke prematurely, she was at risk of developing a life-threatening infection. Her case didn't qualify for an exception under Georgia’s abortion laws. Kulik went to another state to receive her abortion.
  • Ms.Yasmein Ziyad experienced a miscarriage at 11 weeks during COVID-19 and was administered vaginal pills for an at-home miscarriage. Ziyad further suffered from two additional miscarriages from chromosomal abnormalities. In her 4th pregnancy, she was told at her six-week checkup that her fetus was not growing and had no detectable heartbeat. A doctor inserted metal scissors into Ziyad’s vaginal area to remove the remaining tissue from the abortion (DNC), causing excruciating pain. Ziyad has now given up on pregnancy.
  • Dr. Carrie Cwiak believes that patients have no time to process whether they want an abortion or not under the limited time given to them under the ban. Argues that complex medical situations should not be restricted by law, especially when it takes away from the quality of medical care. In some cases, abortions are the safest option for patients, and the ban only creates a larger problem. Exceptions of rape/incest in the ban are not accepting of all SA survivors and only undermine the trust of patients in their healthcare providers.
  • Senator Ossoff (D) asks Ms. Kulik for more in-depth information about her abortion story and her diagnosis. She asks Dr. Cwiak for evidence to support her argument that  Georgia's abortion ban has led to an increase in maternal mortality. Ask Ms. Ziyad about her initial reaction to her fourth abortion and her choices on a DNC procedure.