Obstetricians flee states that ban abortion
Your article on maternal mortality (“The continued rise of maternal mortality in Georgia leaves families broken in its wake” AJC, Feb. 16) notes that pregnant women are dying while obstetricians are fleeing the state but does not discuss why.
Many obstetricians are fleeing states with abortion bans, or not coming to those states to practice. Abortion bans make it difficult to practice good medicine, where abortion needs to be an available option where needed. Doctors don’t want to practice in an environment where the state is looking over their shoulder and questioning medical decisions they make with their patients.
Politicians need to understand that abortion bans lead to maternal deaths and, if they don’t understand, they need to be voted out of office.
VICTOR THURONYI M.D., SANDY SPRING, MD
Tax holiday for guns -- a ‘cruel’ priority
As four Atlanta high school students recover from their gunshot wounds, the Georgia Senate has decided what we need here is a five-day tax holiday on gun purchases (Senate Bill 344). And (oh, by the way) we can make that more palatable by extending the tax holiday to gun safety products (Senate Bill 340) because we love our children that much.
Meanwhile, women continue to pay taxes on the menstrual products they need every month and families pay taxes on the diapers their babies need. Our priorities are cruel.
MARJORIE TIMMER, DECATUR
Willis made herself vulnerable to attack
Nedra Rhone (“Aim is to discredit Willis as well as disqualify,” AJC, Feb. 18) is concerned that defense attorneys are trying to discredit Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis and disqualify her from the RICO case. It’s up to the judge whether Willis is disqualified, but it’s fair to say that the discrediting has already been done.
While bringing one of the highest-profile criminal cases in U.S. history, the DA made herself and her office extremely vulnerable to attack. Amazingly, the case itself is no longer the main story. This absurd episode will serve as a primer to other DAs on how not to handle such a case.
DANA R. HERMANSON, MARIETTA
