Georgia

Georgia is not ranked very highly when it comes to access and availably to reproductive health care. Similarly, to Arkansas, Georgia has a very low health score which is a one out of twelve. This is in part to the fact that Georgia has eleven restrictive policies and nine supportive policies. This information is according to IBIS Reproductive Health Center for Reproductive Rights. Due to the fact that Georgia is seen as a republican state, it is unsurprising to most that Georgia is very strict and does not allow for many loopholes when it comes to abortion laws. Michael Foo and Taylor Lin, two Georgia State University Law Students, discuss in depth the HB 481 – Heartbeat Bill. This article outlines what the Act entails in addition to providing background information on Georgia’s previous bills and how those have affected women. Before governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, stepped into office, he publicly announced to the AJC, that he was going to sign, “the toughest abortion laws in the country.” Georgia as a whole is an overall republican state but Atlanta, the capital of Georgia has a very large demographic of democrats. 

NBC New reports that on May 7^th of 2019, the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp signed a federal heartbeat law which ultimately banned any women from getting an abortion after 6 weeks. Six weeks into a pregnancy is often before many women realize that they are expecting. Previously, the law in Georgia stated that one could not go through with an abortion after 20 weeks. Many people, specifically democrats, are unhappy about this change. This law has a larger effect than just on the women who live in Georgia but the state as a whole. In an NPR podcast hosted by Audie Cornish, she discusses how many major companies including Netflix and Walt Disney are threatening to deny business to the Peach State. This could have a very serious negative economic effect on Georgia as the state has become one of the movie capitals of the world and produces more movies than Hollywood. As of now, no official boycott has been held but this can quickly change within the next year or so. 

 This law has limited exceptions which include a legal abortion only if the mother’s health is at serious risk, if the fetus won’t make it out alive outside of the mother, or if it was an incident of rape or incest but only if the incident has been filed police report. The vice reports on one woman named Susana’s whose abortion occurred in 2013. After Susana woke up feeling nauseous and then receiving a positive on a pregnancy test, she knew she was eligible to receive a medical abortion as her last period had begun roughly six to seven weeks prior and at the time the law stated that a medical abortion was legal until ten weeks. At the time Susana was 19 years old and unprepared to mentally and financially support the child. The first pregnancy center Susana went to was religious and was not what she was expecting, especially since she was not religious involved with any one particular religion. Following this visit, Susana found an abortion clinic and was able to schedule her abortion. Susan finally discusses the price where she says that her boyfriend paid $100 and she was able to pay the other $300 for the procedure which came to a total of $400. For some, $400 is not in their budget and they are unable to receive federal assistance in order to help pay for this procedure.

Many discussions have come about regarding the price of an abortion and wheatear or not they should be covered by insurance. Some states, such as Maine use tax dollars to cover abortions for all. This is not the case with Georgia.  The following prices for different procedures was collected from ABC women’s clinic. These prices are estimates and they ultimately depend on the provider, what type of practice one visits and your insurance. Typically, it is cheaper to get an abortion through a clinic or a private practice rather than at a hospital. A medical abortion or an abortion pill roughly cost anywhere between $350 and $650. This option is only possible within 10 weeks gestation. Suction aspiration or vacuum abortion is available to women 6-12 weeks gestation and this procedure usually costs $600 to $1000. Dilation and Curettage may be performed on women who are between 13- and 16-weeks gestation and costs anywhere from $850 to $1600. Finally, dilation and evacuation costs between $1500 and $2100 and may be performed on women who are 17 to 21 weeks gestation. All that said, without the proper and available access to clinics, and if women are unable to detect their pregnancy early on, it only becomes more costly and more painful. Once a woman decided she wants to go through with the abortion, this issue because time sensitive as there is a restriction put on when the abortion is no longer legal unless the mother’s health is directly affected. 

The Fetal Heartbeat Law is one that is argued among all. As stated in a CNN article reporting on Kemp signing the law, this legislation says that “no abortion is authorized or shall be performed if the unborn child has been determined to have a human heartbeat.” Proponents of this legislation say that abortion is a cruel and unjust procedure and there are alternatives such as the morning after pill or putting the unwanted child up for adoption. Critics of this legislation, which include the ACLU, say that this will ban safe and legal abortions and it would ultimately make the most intimate decision a woman or a couple could make a crime. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood, who are not supportive of this bill, are ready to fight in order to women to have the right to choose whether or not they wish to start a family. They believe that women should not have to justify this decision and that any reason is a valid excuse for not being ready to go through a whole pregnancy term.