Georgia Mayor Dubs Abortions Too ‘Dramatic’ To Handle


When less-than-informed people are put in charge of women’s reproductive healthcare, the average person can probably guess that the outcome could not possibly be anything positive. This has been proven true by the mayor of Rossville,GA-Teddy Harris.

Mayor Harris has told Council members that his decision to ban abortion — even in cases of rape and incest — because he wanted to keep “drama” out of the town. According to Times Free Press, this ordinance (along with one to outlaw “pill mills”) was budded when a methadone clinic was questioned as legal or not by a resident. Although the clinic is very much legal, it lead Mayor Harris to ponder about what other businesses he would like to save the city of Rossville from.

The only exceptions that would allow abortion in Rossville would be if? licensed physicians performed the abortion at a hospital, given that the life of the mother was in danger, and if the doctors could determine if the fetus could survive outside of the womb or not.

Thus, abortion was deemed illegal by the City Council.

There are 19 abortion clinics in Georgia, none of which are in Rossville. However, the ordinance isn’t clear on whether or not there would be legal trouble if one were to be built there.


Georgia law already requires a 24-hour?parental notice of an abortion and parental consent. What has happened in Rossville is not going to start a very good trend for surrounding cities, and in the long run, could have a result similar to what happened in Texas.

Abortions are not a matter to be referred to as “dramatic”, and should not be shut out because of the desire to keep peace in a city. Women and families lives are being put into jeopardy because of decisions like this.


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Kellyn Smith is red-headed (but blue supporting) 17 year old high school student from Marietta, GA. She likes activism, poetry, and music. She's an outspoken Atheist and feminist. She wants to study political science at the University of Oregon or the University of Washington.