by State Representative Ruwa Romman
Last year, SCOTUS issued its Dobbs decision effectively striking down Roe v. Wade and stripping away the federal right to an abortion, sending shockwaves across the country. Here in Georgia, the decision meant a draconian 6 week ban went into effect. Patients waiting in lobbies had to leave because the law changed while they were in the waiting room. While some celebrated the decision as a righteous protection of life, the reality is these new laws are life threatening.
Across the country, the average time someone needed to travel for an abortion tripled with some states seeing travel times of 7 hours or more equating to hundreds of miles. Even in states with exceptions, life threatening pregnancies could no longer be terminated until the patient developed sepsis or other complications increasing the likelihood of infertility and death. Families have been, and will continue to be, torn apart by these unnecessary burdens we place between parents and their doctors.
Most faiths, including most interpretations of Christianity, don’t believe that life begins at conception. My faith – Islam – allows for abortion. My faith prioritizes the health of the mother, the health of the family, and the health of our community. My faith obligates me to care for my body. But the pro-life movement that created these laws and overturned Roe on the premise of religious freedom separates me from my faith. In the state of Georgia, I can’t care for my body and my community the way my faith requires. It enrages me that these decisions, made under the auspices of protecting religious rights, force me to abandon the teachings of my own religion.
My faith does not mandate that I control my neighbor nor prevent them from accessing healthcare. In fact, my faith, like so many other faith traditions, mandates that society care for the sick and the needy. But in Georgia, 82 counties, more than half, do not have an OBGYN. Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates—almost twice the national rate, but those considering Georgia as a state to practice medicine to alleviate that gap are now choosing other states. They are unable to learn what they need to provide life-saving care for patients and do not want to practice in a state where they may have to let a patient suffer.
Additionally, 65 counties do not have a pediatrician. Not only are we forcing people to give birth, but they are not receiving the maternal care they need, are bringing children into a world where they may not be able to access care to keep those children healthy, and risk severe complications without a provider to help them. As I sat in the chambers in my very first legislative session, not one of my Republican colleagues brought substantive legislation to the floor to use our budget surplus to meet these urgent medical needs across Georgia and protect life.
These anti-abortion policies are too extreme for our communities. People see this radical, hypocritical agenda for what it is. I know for a fact people do not want me or other politicians in the room with their doctor. So why do Republicans keep legislating as if we are entitled to be in those rooms?
Although it has only been a year since the Dobbs decision, we are now seeing an almost half a century worth of medical regression and health outcomes. Here in Georgia, we now have a 6 week ban that makes it almost impossible to get an abortion. These restrictions were unacceptable then, and they remain unacceptable now. My colleagues and I will continue to pursue legislation to protect and expand access to life saving healthcare, including abortions. But the reality is, until Democrats win more seats in Georgia, abortion will remain inaccessible.
In the days and weeks to come, I hope you consider donating to a local abortion fund. In the weeks and months to come, I hope this inspires you to dig deeper into who represents you under the Gold Dome. Working together, we can build a Georgia that works for all of us.
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