The Senate Committee on Urban Affairs held a hearing Tuesday, June 24 to hear testimony about Georgia’s six-week abortion ban.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr declined an invitation to speak at the hearing.
The committee heard 10 testimonies from people speaking against HB 481, the “heartbeat bill,” an anti-abortion law that stops women from receiving an abortion once a heartbeat is detected.
“When we have the opportunity to repeal this law, we will,” Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson, said. “We need the power of the people to help us, so that we can get the numbers and the support we need so we can protect women and families.”
Constituents spoke about their personal experiences with abortion, miscarriages and politics in the healthcare system. Amber Nicole Therman was one of the first women who died of a pregnancy-related cause after HB 481 became law. Her mother, Shanette Williams, spoke via Zoom at the hearing. She addressed politics’ role in healthcare and made a promise to continue to fight for women’s reproductive rights.
The Georgia Department of Public Health released a Maternal Mortality Report for 2018-2020. The report concluded that for every 100,000 live births, there are 30.2 pregnancy-related deaths. In Georgia, Black women are two times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related death than white women are.
“Georgia’s abortion law puts pregnant women in danger by creating fear and confusion and restricts providers’ ability to provide the best possible care according to the unique needs and situations of their patients,” said Dr. Anna Newton-Levinston, an associate professor of behavioral science and mental health studying access to reproductive healthcare at Emory University. “My research has found that this is happening even for those that should be qualified for exemptions under the law.”
Adriana Smith is the most recent case of maternal mortality in the state. She was a pregnant woman whose body was kept alive after brain-death because providers feared prosecution under the state’s anti-abortion law. The baby was delivered at six months via emergency cesarean section and Smith was taken off life-support.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has the power to determine how HB 481 is prosecuted and interpreted.
“We have to be cognisant of legislation that regulates abortion in our state,” Hannah Davis, public policy and organizing manager for Planned Parenthood, said. “We can see patients up until the point that fetal cardiac activity is detected, which happens roughly around six weeks of pregnancy…anywhere between four and eight weeks.”
“It’s before many people even know that they’re pregnant,” Davis added.
Women facing poverty, living in rural areas, and women of color are less likely to be able to travel outside of Georgia for abortion healthcare, according to the GDPH maternal mortality report. They are more likely to face a pregnancy-related death compared to white women living in suburbs across the state.
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