February 23, 2022
To the Members of the Georgia General Assembly,
As health care professionals, we urge Georgia lawmakers to protect our patients’ access to abortion medication by mail. We call on them to reject Senate Bill 456, legislation that would ban their delivery and require people to see a physician in person, with an ultrasound, before obtaining the pills.
Medication abortion, known as the abortion pill or mifepristone, is a safe, effective method to end an unwanted pregnancy within its first 11 weeks. First approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000, it has a complication risk of just 0.4%. Comprehensive U.S. studies, along with data from other countries, show that medication abortion without in-person dispensing is safe and effective and that in-person dispensing is not required for safety. That’s why the FDA has decided to allow patients to receive the pills by mail.
Ensuring that patients can receive medication in the mail means that they can safely self-manage their abortion in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Those in rural and remote areas can access this needed care just as they utilize telemedicine or other health care. People of color and those with lower incomes, who generally have less access to health care and less flexibility in visiting a doctor’s office, can more easily get the care they need.
Conversely, restricting abortion access disproportionately affects those who have limited resources or already face barriers to overall medical care, including people with lower incomes, residents in rural areas, and Black, Brown, Indigenous, and minority populations. Additionally, denying access to abortion from people who want one can adversely affect their health, safety, and economic wellbeing, including delayed separation from a violent partner and increased likelihood of falling into poverty by four times. Forcing people to carry pregnancies to term can endanger their lives, particularly if they have a chronic illness or if they are Black, Latino, or Indigenous, as these populations suffer higher mortality rates and health disparities.
Taking away patients’ access to medication abortion will not protect pregnant people, it will only harm their health and well-being. Putting up barriers to needed health care will hurt all Georgians, particularly low-income residents, people of color, and rural Georgians. We urge the General Assembly to reject this restrictive and dangerous legislation and protect our patients’ access to safe, effective abortion pills via mail.
Signed:
| Avni Ahuja, Medical Student (Atlanta) |
| Jeffrey Allen, MD; Breast Imaging (Atlanta) |
| Miriam Atkins, MD; Medical Oncology (Augusta) |
| Andrew Barak, DO; Otolaryngology (smyrna) |
| Erik Bauer, MD; Pediatric otolaryngology (Atlanta) |
| Wyndolyn Bell, MD; Pediatrics (Atlanta) |
| Carl Billian, MD MS; Neurology (Marietta) |
| Jann Blanton, MD; Emergency Medicine (Brookhaven) |
| Howard Borger, MD; Ophthalmologist (Marietta) |
| Jeanne Boudreaux, MD; Pediatric Hematologist (Atlanta) |
| Jessica Bryant, NP; ICU (Atlanta) |
| Laurie Burton, MD; Pediatric Emergency Medicine (Atlanta) |
| BJ Carter, Health Educator; Reproductive Health (Atlanta) |
| Rochelle Cotliar, MD; Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (Atlanta) |
| Kenneth Deaton, MD; Heme-Oncology (Macon) |
| Daniel Dubovsky, MD; Oncology (Sandy Springs) |
| Dawn Ferguson, MD; PM&R (Jonesboro) |
| Jennifer Fox, MD; Internal Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Mark Friedman, MD; Internal Medicine (Dunwoody) |
| Michael Gorum, MD; Neurosurgery (Columbus) |
| Marva Graham, MD; Retired Psychiatrist (Atlanta) |
| Jane Guidot, RN; Research (Atlanta) |
| Tiffany Hailstorks, MD, MPH; OBGyn (Atlanta) |
| Wanda Hall, RN; Women’s Health (Fayetteville) |
| Lewis Hamner, MD; Maternal Fetal Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Brandi Hawkins, RN; Hospice (Dawsonville) |
| Noor Hillou, Medical Student (Lawrenceville) |
| Karen Hochman, MD; Psychiatry (Decatur) |
| Kurt Hofmann, MD; General Surgery (Vidalia) |
| Phillip Jackson, DO; Internal Medicine (Thomasville) |
| Farris Johnson, Jr., MD; Family Medicine (Watkinsville) |
| Henry Kahn, MD; Internal Medicine (retired) (Atlanta) |
| Richard Karol, MD; Emergency Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Gretchen Kauffman, RN; OR (Snellville) |
| Erin Kaufman, MPH LAPC; Mental Health Therapist (Atlanta) |
| Cheryl Kendall, MD; Pediatrics (Atlanta) |
| Naga Kommuri, MD; Cardiology (Alpharetta) |
| Felicia Lacksen, MD; Internal Medicine (Watkinsville) |
| Saundra Maass-Robinson, MD; Psychiatry (Decatur) |
| Jenelle Martin, MD; Psychiatry (Lilburn) |
| Rachel Mather, MD; Internal Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Michael McConnell, MD; Pediatric cardiology (Atlanta) |
| Kathryn Miele, MD; Obstetrics and Gynecology (Atlanta) |
| Adrienne Mims, MD; Family Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Elsie Morris, MD; Pediatrics (Atlanta) |
| Laila Mozdab, DO; Anesthesiology (Vidalia) |
| Ahmed Nassar, MD; Ophthalmology (Peachtree City) |
| Chun Ng, MD; Psychiatry (Atlanta) |
| Thomas Oden, MD; Psychiatry (Atlanta) |
| Sukari Olawumi, Ultrasound Tech; Ultrasound Tech (McDonough) |
| Frances Owen, MD; Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (Saint Simons Island) |
| Chris Palmer, RN; Case Management (Augusta) |
| Jay Polokoff, MD; Pediatrics (Peachtree Corners) |
| Sarah Polow, DO; Family Medicine (Chatsworth) |
| Adora Poon, MD; Anesthesiology (Atlanta) |
| Bryan Price, MD; Psychiatry (Atlanta) |
| Neal Priest, MD; Emergency Medicine (Athens) |
| Julia Quinn, MD; Emergency Medicine (Athens) |
| Carlos Ramia, MD; Anesthesiology (Lawrenceville) |
| Hilari Reagin, RN, FNP; Family Medicine (Athens) |
| Sarah Jane Reedy, MD; Emergency Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Marcia Riley, MD; Internal Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Anurag Sahu, MD; Cardiology (Atlanta) |
| Didi Saint Louis, MD, MPH; OBGYN (Atlanta) |
| Mona Saraiya, MD; Preventive Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Jill Silbiger, MD; Psychiatrist (Marietta) |
| Tracey Sills, MD; Family Medicine (Lawrenceville) |
| Jay Singh, MD; Colorectal Surgery (Sandy Springs) |
| Willard Snyder Jr, MD; Family Medicine (Brunswick) |
| William Stinnette, MD; Internal Medicine (Atlanta) |
| Stella Tsai, MD; Neurology (Macon) |
| Yasmin Tyler-Hill, MD; Pediatrics (Atlanta) |
| Marsha Vandervort, RN; NICU (Warner Robins) |
| Rajiv Verma, MD; Cardiology (Dalton) |
| David Villasana, MD; Neurology (Atlanta) |
| Kay Vydareny, MD; Diagnostic Radiology (Atlanta) |
| Janice Warner, MD; Dermatology (Atlanta) |
| Dawn Wilson, MD; Psychiatrist (Suwanee) |
| Arlene Wilson, MD; Internal Medicine (Mableton) |
| Robert Wiskind, MD; Pediatrics (Atlanta) |
| Timilehin Wusu, MD; Orthopedics (Lawrenceville) |
| Maria Wusu, MD; Family Medicine (Chamblee) |
| Mimi Zieman, MD; OBGYN (Atlanta) |
