As of May 8, 2019, Governor Brian Kemp signed into effect the Heartbeat Bill in Georgia. Although this bill has already been in effect in three other states (Kentucky, Mississippi, and Ohio), not many people are aware of the bill and its effects on women.
The Heartbeat Bill states that abortion is banned after a woman is pregnant for six weeks.
If a woman still gets an abortion after this time period, the case will be investigated as a homicide. In fact, the women who receive illegal abortions may be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. If she tries to leave the state to receive an abortion, she, as well as anyone who helps her, could be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, which is punishable by 10 years in jail.
Six weeks. This is approximately the amount of time it takes for a doctor to detect a fetal heartbeat.
But what was completely neglected by the supporters of this law is what six weeks is in the perspective of a woman. Six weeks could possibly be a delayed period. Six weeks could possibly be when a woman first finds out she is pregnant, leaving her no time to make a decision about whether or not she can provide her child the resources to survive and live comfortably. Her rights are being ripped away from her even before she even knows she's carrying a child inside her. This is not only unconstitutional, but it is also a direct violation of personal rights since the opinions of one of the main subjects of this law (women) were completely neglected.
The entire foundation of this law is completely flawed.
Many of the women who choose to get an abortion know that they cannot afford to raise a child and provide the resources and comfort they need to survive while ensuring their own survival as well. That means that the child will either be raised in less-than-ideal, or even dangerous, conditions, or the child will enter the (very flawed) foster care system, from which a lot of children still end up homeless. So what good is this bill trying to do?
The life of a woman's child does not belong in the hands of the government when it is undeveloped and still inside her body.
Contrary to what many of the supporters of the bill believe, women do not find it easy to get rid of their child. Many women face severe psychological repercussions after receiving an abortion. The process is painful, long, and difficult, and no woman would resort to abortion unless she felt that she really could not provide her child the life every mother thinks they deserve. The child is, after all, a part of her. Why is her decision being completely overridden by someone of the opposite gender, who has no clue about the female body, sitting in an office far away from her and her life?
It is unreasonable to argue that a woman will receive an abortion late into her pregnancy when the fetus is almost done developing because at that point, it would be dangerous for both the child and the mother. Passing this bill is unconstitutional and oppressive towards women.
No one's opinions on what you should do with your body should override your own.
