Dear Health Sciences community:

On Wednesday, Georgia House Bill 481 went into effect and became law in Georgia, banning abortions in most cases after the detection of fetal cardiac activity. While we have been preparing for this outcome, as leaders who have dedicated our lives and work to improving health, we remain deeply concerned about the potential negative impact and far-reaching implications of abortion restrictions.

We recognize that our faculty, staff, trainees and students have numerous questions and concerns about the new law. We are committed to getting answers to you as quickly as possible. The following is what we know at this time.

Emory will comply with all state and federal laws and continue all legal avenues of reproductive health education, training and involvement for our students, residents, and fellows. We do not anticipate significant changes to our curriculum or to the research or funding focused on reproductive health. However, laws that restrict access to abortion will adversely impact our ability to provide students, residents, fellows and trainees with direct patient care and training in abortion care. Let us be clear - comprehensive reproductive health education includes abortion.

Emory remains steadfast in our commitment to providing excellent and equitable healthcare to patients and supporting our providers. There will be situations where the medical standard of care we previously provided will be in violation of the law, causing distress for patients and providers, alike. We are working with Emory leadership, our affiliated health care organizations, and local and national associations to make sure health professions students, residents, fellows, and providers can continue to train in—and practice—world-class obstetrics and gynecology at Emory.

Now, more than ever, research in reproductive health and the impact of restrictive laws is needed within our academic institution and our community. We will continue this vital work, collaborating across our schools and with our community partners.

We recognize our community may be concerned about their own healthcare access. Additional communications from the university are coming soon, and students can find more details online. We will continue to share additional details with our schools as they become available.

Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other.

M. Daniele Fallin, PhD
James W. Curran Dean of Public Health
Rollins School of Public Health

Linda A. McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dean and Professor
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Vikas P. Sukhatme, MD, ScD
Dean and Woodruff Professor
Emory School of Medicine

Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, FACR
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Emory University
Executive Director, Woodruff Health Sciences Center
CEO and Chairman of the Board, Emory Healthcare

Please direct questions and comments to evphafeedback@emory.edu.