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Sen. Ossoff subcommittee hearing: Abortion ban
Sen. Jon Ossoff's Human Rights subcommittee held a hearing in Decatur to listen to the concerns of Georgia OB-GYN's and medical experts about what they see as the risks of the state's restrictive 6-week abortion ban, infamously known as the Heartbeat Law.
DECATUR, Ga. - Sen. Jon Ossoff's Human Rights Subcommittee held a hearing on the health impacts of Georgia's abortion ban on women Tuesday morning.
The subcommittee heard from OB-GYNs and other medical experts about the risks of Georgia's restrictive 6-week abortion ban, infamously known as the heartbeat law.
"Oftentimes, by the time you hit irreversible and futile, mom's life is already at significant risk. You've taken away her choice and capacity to make a decision to potentially avoid hitting irreversible and futile," Dr. Suchitra Chandrasekaran told the subcommittee during the hearing.
An exam room at a Planned Parenthood clinic in 2018 in Flossmoor, Illinois. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
It began at 9:30 a.m. ET. at Decatur City Hall, and was live-streamed.
Learn more about the professionals who spoke:
- Dr. Suchitra Chandrasekaran, M.D., M.S.C.E., F.A.C.O.G.
- Dr. Nisha Verma M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.O.G.
- Dr. Aisvarya Panakam, M.D.
What is Georgia's heartbeat law?
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the "heartbeat" abortion bill, known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, into law in 2019, banning abortion after approximately six weeks.
The Georgia law includes exceptions for rape and incest, provided a police report is filed, and allows for later abortions when the mother's life is at risk or a serious medical condition renders a fetus unviable.
However, a federal judge blocked the law in October 2019 before it could take effect, ruling it violated the right to abortion established by the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for the Georgia law to take effect.
In November 2022, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney declared the ban "unequivocally unconstitutional" because it was enacted in 2019 when Roe v. Wade permitted abortions well past six weeks. However, on October 24, 2023, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling, leaving limited abortion access unchanged for Georgia residents. Read more about Georgia's abortion ban here.