In June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States upended nearly 50 years of precedent when issuing the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Women’s Health Organization.
This unfortunate opinion overturned the fundamental right of every person to access abortion care, and left citizens with little to no protection from state government intrusion. Since then, state’s across the country began enforcing trigger bans that restricted abortion, or banned abortion all together, at the moment of conception.
On Tuesday, October 24, 2023, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled to uphold Georgia’s trigger ban, the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (Life) Act, in the matter of Sistersong v. State of Georgia.
The Life Act, known as H.B. 481, bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Unfortunately, this decision does not represent the desire, the need, nor the consensus of Georgia citizens. In fact, more than 4 in 5 Georgians agree that when someone decides to have an abortion, that decision should be up to the birthing person, not the government.
The decision to restrict abortion came down at a time when Georgia is struggling with hospital closers, maternity and healthcare deserts, and one of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the country.
According to a 2022 report by the March of Dimes, more than 34.6 counties in Georgia have no access to a birthing center, or hospital offering obstetric care. Hospital closures, and a shortage of providers in rural areas, exacerbates Georgia’s poor quality measures in its Medicaid program such as access to postpartum care, timeliness of prenatal care, and public awareness of perinatal services.
Inadequate access to quality healthcare impacts Black women, and birthers, at a higher rate than any other race or ethnicity.
In Georgia, Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than non-Hispanic, white women.
Chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, contribute to high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality. In Georgia, Black women have egregious above-average rates of all of these conditions, resulting in high risk pregnancies and poor maternal health outcomes. Restricting abortion care access restricts access to reproductive health care such as contraceptives, birth control, emergency contraception, annual exams, and STI testing and treatment.
It is time for Georgia legislators to begin passing laws that promote access to adequate health and maternity care rather than restrict it.
Abortion care is reproductive freedom. Reproductive freedom is not just a right; it’s a cornerstone of equality, autonomy, and dignity for all individuals. On January 23, 2024, Georgia State Representative Kim Schofield, introduced the Right to Reproductive Freedom Resolution (HR 836) to protect all Georgians' right to reproductive freedom.
This resolution proposes an amendment to the Georgia constitution which would enshrine every Georgia citizen with the right to reproductive freedom.
Under this resolution, reproductive freedom includes the right to effectuate decisions pertaining to all matters related to pregnancy, including but not limited to, abortion, childbirth, fertility care, miscarriage care, postpartum care, and prenatal care.
If passed, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Resolution would place the right to an abortion on Georgia’s November 5, 2024, ballot. Through the power of democracy, this resolution would allow Georgia citizens to vote on their right to make decisions about their own reproductive health.
We need your help to support the Right to Reproductive Freedom Resolution (HR 836). Stand in solidarity with SisterLove, and many other reproductive justice advocates in telling the Georgia Congress to stand up for democracy and reproductive freedom.
Make your voice heard by contacting your Georgia representative and urging them to vote YES in favor of House Resolution 836. Urge your representatives to uphold the right to privacy and reproductive freedom! To find your representative, please go to My Voter Page.
SisterLove will continue to join in this fight to live in a world where everyone has the right to decide whether or not to have children, and raise their children in safe, sustainable communities. Only then, can reproductive justice truly be realized.
Please join us in the fight for our rights and lives, sign up to be a SisterLove E-advocate today.