A bill proposing a near-total abortion ban causes an uproar at Georgia's Capitol
ATLANTA (AP) — A crowd of pro-abortion and anti-abortion protesters flooded a windowless Georgia Capitol hallway on Wednesday with chants and signs as lawmakers held a hearing on a bill that would ban almost all abortions.
Although the bill won't go anywhere this year because a deadline has passed for consideration by both chambers, the hearing by the House's Republican leadership gave anti-abortion activists a chance to speak out on an issue near and dear to their constituents.
Dozens milled about and shouted words of support or disdain for the proposal. Onlookers tried to squeeze into the hearing room as sheriff's deputies guarded the area. One man raised his voice above the noise and said, 'I'm so thankful that my mom gave me life' and did not 'sacrifice' her children.
Each time someone left the room after testifying, they were met with cheers from those on their side of the bill.
'Tens of thousands of babies made in the image of God continue to be murdered in our state every year, all within the bounds of the current law,' said bill sponsor Rep. Emory Dunahoo, a Gillsville Republican. 'This bill simply ensures that those same laws protecting the lives of people after birth equally protect the lives of people before birth.'
The bill would make most abortions a crime from the point of fertilization. Georgia already bans abortions after finding a 'detectable human heartbeat,' which can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy when many women still don't know they are pregnant. Still, a flurry of religious leaders said the measure doesn't go far enough.
Some religious anti-abortion individuals were among the bill's opponents, though, saying it goes too far with criminalization.
Critics of the measure said it would bar women from lifesaving care during birth complications and in-vitro fertilization. Many voiced concern that women with miscarriages or dangerous health complications during birth would not get the care they need.
Rep. Shea Roberts, an Atlanta Democrat, recounted her own experience getting an abortion to save her life.
'It was one of the most devastating times in my life, and doctors told me that the dream of my child was going to die either inside of me or within minutes outside my body, and it would be suffering,' Roberts said.
The bill would grant some exceptions, including in cases involving a 'spontaneous miscarriage' and procedures undertaken to save a mother's life 'when accompanied by reasonable steps, if available, to save the life of her unborn child.'
But opponents say doctors would be too frightened by the proposal to provide that care even when necessary. They pointed to the cases — reported by the investigative journalism outlet ProPublica — of two women who died from delayed care tied to Georgia's abortion law after taking abortion pills.
Doctors also noted that Georgia already has some of the nation's highest maternal mortality rates, especially for Black women. Lawmakers should focus on helping them get more care, opponents said.
Doctors also said the bill sets the stage for the criminalization of in vitro fertilization and would force fertility clinics to close. The bill comes about a month after Georgia's House passed a bill with bipartisan support to protect the right to in vitro fertilization in the state. That measure was sponsored by Statesboro Republican Rep. Lehman Franklin, whose wife used IVF to conceive.
Despite concerns from several doctors, Dunahoo responded that the bill would not interfere with access to in vitro fertilization.
But Dr. Karenne Fru, who runs a fertility clinic that provides in-vitro fertilization, said the bill would put her out of work.
'My whole life is doing God's work. He said go forth and procreate,' said Fru, her voice shaking. 'I'm doing that. Please, just let me continue to do that. I cannot go to jail because I want to help people become parents.'
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