Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) recently joined patients, healthcare providers and abortion rights activists when Free & Just’s national “Ride to Decide” bus tour stopped in Atlanta.
The Ride to Decide bus tour comes as attacks on reproductive freedom escalate across the country. Support for legal abortion has increased since Roe v. Wade was repealed in 2022, but that hasn’t stopped anti-abortion activists and conservative lawmakers from continuing to undermine Americans’ access to abortion care, contraception and IVF treatments.
At the event, local patients, healthcare providers and community members shared how attacks on reproductive freedom harm women and families in Georgia and across the country.
“It is the politicians in Georgia who failed us and put us in this predicament in the first place,” said Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), who emphasized how the state’s six-week abortion ban has exacerbated the shortage of gynecologists and left people without access to health care. “When we talk about ending abortion bans and protecting reproductive freedom, we are using our voices, our stories and our freedom.”
“Most people who seek abortion are already parents, and no one knows their ability to parent better than people who are parents themselves. You can’t tell someone to get their act together or have another baby – you can’t force someone to give birth and care for a child,” said Nandi, a mother of two and abortion doula who shared her own experience with abortion in Georgia. “As an abortion advocate, as a mother of two, as a doula – it’s really important that we continue to speak out, share our stories, build our community, talk to our representatives and have our voices heard.”
“Sometimes we discover a new pregnancy in the emergency room and I tell patients life-changing news. We used to be able to sit down and discuss their options, but the way things are now, there’s not really much we can do when they’re six weeks along,” says Dr. Juhi Varshney, an emergency physician in Atlanta. “The abortion bans in our state are damaging all from us in a way we didn’t expect.”
“I work at a great clinic, but we’re tired. We work every day to help people get to different states for care,” said Suki O, an Atlanta-area ultrasound technician who helps people seeking abortions. “Every day I tell my patients, ‘I love you, keep your head up,’ and ‘I’m proud of you for making the best decision for you and your family.'”
“Men cannot afford to be passive observers in this fight,” said Davan’te Jennings, chair of the Young Democrats of Georgia Black Caucus and an activist with Men4Choice, who called on men in Georgia and across the country to get involved in the fight for reproductive freedom. “When we speak out against harmful abortion laws, we show our mothers, our sisters, our partners and our daughters that we care about their health, their autonomy and their future.”
“Young Georgians know that access to abortion and health care can save their life or the life of someone they love,” said Andrés Parra of the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition. “Young Georgians have the right to talk to their families and their health care providers to make the best decisions for their health and their future. There is no room for legislators to do that.”
About the author
