This week, the Georgia Democrats have pounded the drum in support of reproductive care and abortion rights. Wednesday, State Representative Kim Schofield held a press conference to highlight her House Resolution that would codify abortion rights into state law. House Resolution 836 would establish ‘a fundamental right to reproductive freedom and such right shall not be denied, burdened, or infringed upon.’ If it passes both chambers, it would go to the voters in November.
According to Schofield’s bill, it says every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom that entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including, but not limited to, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage care, and fertility care.
In states that have put abortion rights on the ballot, the voters have overwhelmingly turned out in favor of each initiative. For example, Ohio voters supported a measure that codified abortion rights up until the fetus is viable in November 2023. The right to abortion is available until 22 weeks. Also in Kansas, voters defeated a constitutional amendment by a 60-40 margin that, if it were successful, would have banned reproductive care and abortions.
“What we are seeking is work that saves lives,” says State Rep. Park Cannon, a Democrat from midtown Atlanta. “So that is absolutely why over the past few years, we’re expressing that the bills passed have been because of late nights we have spent here asking questions. We will continue to stand on the record which is that just as much as the bill might be sponsored by a member across the aisle, they still need our votes to make it move. And so if we move forward the rest of this legislative session with the understanding that the work that needs to get done is more important than who gets the credit. We feel like we’ve done the right thing.”
Georgia women are dying from pregnancy-related causes at alarming rates. The Georgia Department of Public Health’s latest Maternal Mortality Report found 30.2 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births between 2018 and 2020. With the overturning of abortion rights relative to the Dobbs decision, the effects go beyond abortion.
There is a spectrum of reproductive care, which is indeed part of ‘healthcare.’ At one end you’ll find individuals fighting for abortion rights, access to birth control, including Intrauterine Devices (IUDs). On the other end, couples are looking to start families and may be struggling to do so. In the middle, there are treatments for fibroids, endometriosis, and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). At every space within the reproductive care spectrum is rife with invasive and deeply personal questions.
With the Alabama Supreme Court decision that outlaws in-vitro fertilization, it is the latest example that many activists in Georgia believe that equal and equitable access to healthcare is the key to solving the maternal mortality crisis. Sherrell Byrd, co-founder and co-chair of SOWEGA, a civil rights advocacy group based in Albany, says women’s health can no longer be a partisan issue.
“Again, maternal care and maternal health is not a partisan issue,” says Byrd. “Everyone, I don’t care what your party is. I don’t care what your race is. Every woman should have the right to safely have their baby. So let the people decide. Let us decide on what we need instead of leaving it in the hands of people who can’t do it.”