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ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) – Healthcare officials in Atlanta are reminding women that abortions are still legal and abortion care is still accessible in the state.
“As of right now, women who choose to seek abortion care are still able to seek abortion care,” said Dr. Didi Saint Louis, an OBGYN in Atlanta.
Dr. Saint Louis said her office saw an influx of calls on Tuesday from women wondering how the recent Supreme Court ruling draft impacts them.
“Most of the phone calls are generally the same. Can I still get an abortion? Where can I get an abortion? Is abortion illegal? What should I do? Where should I go,” said Dr. Saint Louis, in an interview with CBS46 on Tuesday. “And [I] just try to calm everyone and remind them that it’s just an opinion, it’s a scary opinion, but it’s just an opinion as of right now.”
Georgia abortion clinics are promoting they are open for business.
“Yes, abortion care is still legal in GA,” reads the opening message on the website of the Atlanta Women’s Center.
Abortions are legal in Georgia through the first trimester and partly through the second trimester of a woman’s pregnancy.
According to recent data, there are more than 30,000 abortions reported in Georgia annually.
Saint Louis suggested that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Georgia lawmakers could revive a “heartbeat bill” which would ban most abortions when a fetal heartbeat is present, or at roughly 6 weeks.
Governor Kemp signed the bill in 2019 but a federal judge recently blocked it from taking effect, saying the law violated the precedent set in Roe v. Wade.
Dr. Saint Louis said abortion advocates have endured legal scares before, but the publishing of this Supreme Court draft ruling suggests a shift in the future of reproductive healthcare.
“This does feel very, very different. It’s almost a reality that the landscape of reproductive access is going to change in the United States – and not for the better,” said Dr. Saint Louis.
Copyright 2022 WGCL. All rights reserved.
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