Georgia city bans abortions in cases of rape and incest because mayor doesn't want the 'drama'

The city of Rossville, Georgia has banned abortions -- even in the case of rape and incest -- because Mayor Teddy Harris said that the town did not need any "drama."

At a meeting on Monday, Council members asked Harris what had prompted him to call for a vote on two ordinances, one that banned abortion clinics and another that banned so-called "pill mills."

Harris said that a resident had questioned the legality of a methadone clinic, which made him think about what other businesses he would like to keep out of the town, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

The mayor explained that abortion clinics could spark "drama" in the city.

"We want to be a peaceful city," Harris insisted. "We don't want to have any protesters."

None of the 19 Georgia abortion clinics are currently located in Rossville, and it wasn't clear that the ordinance would stand up to legal scrutiny if one tried to open there.

The measure did allow licensed physicians to perform abortions at a hospital if the life of the mother was at risk, and if doctors could certify that the fetus would not survive outside the womb.

In the end, the City Council passed the abortion ban, and an ordinance forbidding "pill mill" businesses which often provide pain medication to addicts without a prescription. However, pill mills had already been banned by state and federal laws.