Many pack committee hearing on controversial Georgia abortion bill
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A controversial abortion bill that would charge women who receive the procedure with murder drew a large crowd to the Capitol on Wednesday.
House Bill 441 would make abortion a crime that comes with “a charge of murder for defendant mothers of unborn children” and completely outlaws abortion in Georgia. It’s sponsored by State Rep. Emory Dunahoo (R–Gillsville).
“Tens of thousands of babies made in the image of God continue to be murdered in our state every year,” said Dunahoo at Wednesday’s packed committee hearing. “That must be changed.”
Dunahoo was grilled by Democratic of the committee, who noted the bill spells out no exceptions in cases of rape, incest or in instances where the pregnancy isn’t medically viable. They also pointed out that Georgia already has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, barring the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy when a heartbeat can be detected.
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Dunahoo also said there’s a provision in HB 441 that would allow the state’s attorney general to prosecute abortion-related murder cases if local prosecutors fail to charge.
“If you kill a child, I think a murder charge is by definition appropriate,” said Luke, a er of HB 441 who spoke to Atlanta News First this week. “It is a baby. Biologically, it’s a life and it has value.”
“I feel like this bill is not necessary,” said Lia Bertelson, who was at the Capitol opposing HB 441.
Bertelson said she and her husband had trouble getting pregnant, and that she feels for any mother who would have to make the choice between her own health and safety, and criminal charges in the event of a medical emergency.
“I was the patient. It wasn’t the fetus. It was my name when I checked in,” she said. “The fact is, there is a difference between an embryo and a baby and this bill seeks nothing but punishment.”
Some lawmakers had concerns that HB 441 would also trounce on another priority for the legislature this year: protecting in-vitro fertilization. On Thursday, one day after the contentious meeting on HB 441, the state Senate ed an amended version of House Bill 428, which would enshrine the right to IVF in Georgia code law.
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Some lawmakers, even Republicans, opposed HB 441 because it would seek to ban access to IVF treatment. The original version of HB428 already ed the House unanimously last month and is expected to sail through again once it gets a vote for final age, likely Friday.
“There is no conflict here,” said State Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah). “This is in law now, in vitro fertilization is the law in the state of Georgia.”
The House sponsor of the IVF bill, State Rep. Lehman Franklin (R-Statesboro), said he wasn’t concerned about any conflicts. He and his wife got pregnant with the help of IVF and he said his main focus was on enshrining that right in law.
“It was great to see the it had in the Senate,” he said Thursday shortly after the Senate vote. “We wanted to codify it, make it go through, and then in the future we can have all the debate we want to, and I welcome that.”
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