Georgia becomes the next state to enforce an abortion law as Governor Brian Kemp signs Heartbeat Bill this morning.
What We Know:
- This morning Kemp signed the “Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, (LIFE) for short. This act stands as a ban on abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected.
- The law is controversial in many ways, the main reason being a fetal heartbeat can’t be detected until six weeks into the pregnancy. The problem with this is many women don’t even know they’re pregnant at that time.
- There has been an estimate of about 15 states that have or are attempting to implement similar “heartbeat bills,” some of those states being: Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and now Georgia. This year alone, over 25o bills regarding abortion have been introduced by lawmakers. Many women have banned together in opposition of this law because they feel like it takes away their right as women.
- Another huge concern behind this bill is the welfare of rape victims. A study done by the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network shows that 321,500 women are raped per year, which means 1 out of every six women has been raped, or survived an attempt. Some rape victims end up pregnant, the age ranges of those victims spanning 12 – 34. These heartbeat bills technically mean that a 12 year old girl would have to give birth to their attacker’s offspring.
- Luckily Georgia’s bill includes an exception for rape, incest, and situations where the mother’s health is at risk. The bill does however allow for a woman to be convicted for a conspiracy to murder charge should they attempt to have an abortion out of state.
Many are making comparisons of these bills to the show “A Handmaid’s Tale.” We may not be too far from it if bills like this continue to pass.
