One month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women have no constitutional right to an abortion, a federal appeals court issued a ruling that allows Georgia’s controversial “Heartbeat” bill to go into affect. The law bans abortion once a heartbeat can be detected which usually takes place about six weeks into a pregnancy. For many women, that’s too soon to detect an actual pregnancy.
Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill in 2019, but a lower court ruled against it taking affect. The Supreme Court’s ruling opened the door for the bill to become a law in Georgia.
Following the ruling, Stacey Abrams, who is running for governor in Georgia, took aim at Kemp for “denying women the right to make medical decisions for themselves.”
“In 2019, extremist Brian Kemp made banning abortion and criminalizing people who provide abortion care his top priority,” Abrams said in a statement. “Today, Kemp achieved his goal: to endanger women, strip away our right to choose, and deny our ability to determine what is best for our bodies. In a state where pregnancy is too often fatal, he is proud of denying women the right to make medical decisions for themselves. Doctors and healthcare workers agree that this law will be deadly for women across our state. While the six-week abortion ban has taken over three years to take effect, the impact is clear: women are now second-class citizens in Kemp’s Georgia. In a state that is already first in maternal mortality, sixth highest in infant mortality, and one of twelve states that refuses to expand Medicaid and provide health care to low-income communities, this ruling cements the failures of this administration and devastates the realities of women.”
Abrams continued by sharing how the law will disproportionately impact women of color and their right to have a safe medical procedure.
“This ruling to allow Kemp’s six-week abortion ban to proceed will affect women across socioeconomic and racial lines,” Abrams said. “Women facing miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are also in jeopardy, as we have seen investigations and refusal of care in the wake of these laws in other states. Brian Kemp proves with this action that he is a man who does not care about women or the health and safety of our lives.”
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate says she’s committed to challenging Kemp and the law.
“I will fight Brian Kemp’s extreme, dangerous, and callous law to give women back our power and the right to decide,” she said. “I encourage all women to remain engaged. This is a medical decision, and it should never be political. We will fight for our rights and when I’m elected as the next Governor of Georgia, I will lead the fight to repeal this law and put the power back in the hands of women.”
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