#hb 481

I am a ninth generation Georgian, this great state has been my home for the entirety of my 26 years, my parents still live here along with majority of my extended family. I was always proud to claim Georgia as my home and share my heritage, but today I am ashamed.

Today governor Kemp singed a bill that says I should have never existed in his eyes. Now you may be thinking how that could be? The bill he signed made it where you couldn’t have abortions after five weeks, so surely he wants everyone to be born, to exist. However if it were not for abortion the events that created me as me would not have transpired.

My mom was young just out of high school and dating the boy next door kids will be kids and my mother fell pregnant. She kept it a secret from her family and told the boy. He wasn’t ready to have a child and broke it off with my mom. By the time my mom went to a clinic she was past five weeks.

If this bill had of existed then her procedure would have been denied. Now we can’t say for certain the details of what would have happened except that the child would have been born in October.

My mother met my father at a Halloween party that October. After two years of dating they were married and two years later had me. My mom admitted to me that making that hard choice was the best one for her as she truly believes her life would be completely different had she not had the procedure.

So as strange as it may sound the person I am with the experiences I have had would not exist. A happy marriage 28 years and counting would not exist. And another life with unique experiences, my little brother, would not exist in the same way.

Now I know we are one little family and that might not matter much to some but the thing of it is it is my family. My great great uncle found gold in the north Georgia mountains, my great grandpa retired from southern bell and was given the last indoor phone booth in Atlanta his wife worked for riches at Lenox and everyone knew her name. This is my heritage. We may not be rich or truly famous but we are a part of this state.

Now I genuinely have to consider bringing a tenth generation into this state and the implications it could have on my children or myself if I stay and possibly face the the same decision my mother faced myself or for my child.

We have all heard jokes about coat hanger abortions what if this joke is a reality I am subjecting my future child to.

I am here. I exist because of safe legal abortion. Without it my life and my experiences would not be present. So please don’t let the heartbeat bill become law in 2020 so that families like mine can exist and girls like my mother have the choice to have a child the same as the next door neighbor boy who walked away.

Ok I post a lot of dumb shit, but I am asking...nay begging my followers to spread this so people will be well informed about this bill. I will also be deleting my previous post as it contains a lot of misinformation.

Hello there all, I am a licensed lawyer in Georgia about 2.5 years into practice. I have read this bill (it is only 10 pages). I have seen a lot of misinformation so I would like to break the bill down (good and bad) to combat that. It’s a long one so bear with me.

1) This bill does not go into effect until January 2020

2) The bill grants constitutional personhood to embyos falling within the bill (when there is a detectable heartbeat).

3. This personhood means that the pregnant woman is able to get child support, but only to the extent of medical and pregnancy related expenses and that under Georgia law (not federal) the embryo would be considered a dependent.

4. Despite being a catchy name this is not technically a “six week abortion ban” bill. It targets abortions on embryos with a detectable heartbeat....which could happen as early as six weeks.

5. Despite what people are saying, the bill explicitly excludes miscarriage, stillborn, and ectopic pregnancy (more on this when I get to the criminal portion). It also explicitly excludes abortions resulting from medical necessity, defined as  “necessary in order to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.” However it notes that this exception does not apply where the woman is in a mental/emotional condition that would cause her to purposefully engage in essentially suicidal conduct. Also there is an exception for medical emergency.

6.There is also an exception for when the embyro is “medically futile”, meaning that in the doctor’s reasonable medical judgment there is a defect “incompatible with sustaining life after birth.”

7. The bill does outright ban abortions after 20 weeks, except in cases of incest or rape. However, in order to receive an abortion under the exception the woman must have filed a police report regarding the offense.

8.The bill requires medical personnel to render medical aid to an aborted embryo/fetus if it is “capable of sustained life”

9.Abortions performed after the first trimester will now be required to occur in a hospital, surgery center, or licensed abortion facility.

The criminal portion has received the most misinformation so I saved it for last.

10. THIS BILL DOES NOT EXPLICITLY CRIMINALIZE ABORTIONS

11. It does however make health records available to local prosecutors (a hideous violation of HIPPA as well) and lists affirmative defenses (which are basically “I did it but my reason for doing it means I shouldn’t be punished”) to prosecution under the chapter. It also gives unidentified parties the right to sue It would not make sense for either of these items to be in the bill if it weren’t now permissive to prosecute abortions under the new law.

       11a. Not part of the bill but informational: very light research indicates that this has already been tried and largely unsuccessful under current law. Though it is likely that this bill COULD result in criminal prosecution keep in mind the difference between could and will. Prosecutor’s offices are notoriously underfunded and these would likely be difficult cases. Any risk of prosecution is too much and I absolutely want this bill overturned, but it does not seem likely that it will result in a rash of prosecutions.

12. While it does not explicitly criminalize the doctor for performing the abortion, it does explicitly subject their medical license to professional sanctions.

This bill is bad, very bad. It aims to send women back to back alley abortions. I believe it is unconstitutional and I sincerely hope that the ACLU takes up this fight and runs it all the way up to the Supreme Court. However there is one bright light.

13. This bill gives EVERY GEORGIA CITIZEN the right to challenge the constitutionality of this bill in court. Sue...join a class action. Legalized abortion was not the beginning of abortions, it was the end of women dying from them. Challenge this and hopefully we can prevent any more unnecessary deaths

Georgia’s highly restrictive anti-abortion law will have consequences for the economy of the state.

Disney, WarnerMedia, and Netflix all say they may not be doing production inside the state because of the new law. Individual actors and directors are joining the boycott of the state which would take effect if the law goes into effect at the start of 2020.

Stranger Things is one TV series produced there. Netflix should consider moving the series to a more woman-friendly state. Perhaps a move to Minnesota or Upstate New York could be intertwined with a future plot twist.