Georgians assessed a new social and political landscape Saturday, still divided and still determined to fight over the right of women to choose abortions.
Many took a dystopian view of Friday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that established abortion as a constitutionally protected right. They fear other historic Supreme Court decisions, such as those that guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage or that prevented states from barring access to contraception, could be up for reconsideration, as well.
“Not just women, but men are affected by this, non-binary people are affected by this, everyone in this country is affected by this,” said Kaitlyn Wetzel, who organized a protest march Saturday in her hometown of Carrollton. “No matter what your race, your gender, no matter what you identify as, this affects you directly.”
Others, though, saw the court’s decision as a hard-fought victory in a 50-year war. Hundreds of anti-abortion activists celebrated during a meeting of National Right to Life, already scheduled in Atlanta before Friday’s ruling, and about 15 abortion opponents gathered outside the state Capitol. They rallied at the same spot where a far larger crowd of abortion-rights supporters had gathered in protest barely 12 hours earlier.
Cori Woods, who attended Saturday’s demonstration, said her opposition to abortion is rooted in her own adoption. Woods, 32, works for a group called Students for Life of America, which advocates for abortion restrictions.
“When you have parents that want you and have a family that wants you, and when you have a biological mother that says, ‘I wish I would have aborted you,’ that runs deep,” Woods said.
Credit: Chris Day
Credit: Chris Day
Abortion opponents now should turn their attention to making adoption less expensive to assist women with unplanned pregnancies, she said. “All the pro-lifers will have to step up and provide resources and help women so we can show love and compassion to people.”
Larger groups continued protesting the court ruling on Saturday, with rallies scheduled in Atlanta, Athens and other Georgia cities. Although the gatherings Friday and through press time mid-day Saturday were peaceful, Gov. Brian Kemp warned on Twitter that anyone who acted violently or damaged property would be prosecuted.
For now, abortion remains legal in Georgia, up to the 20th week of pregnancy. But a 2019 state law that outlaws the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy — before many women even know they’re pregnant — is likely to take effect soon.
A federal appeals court delayed ruling on a challenge to that law while the Supreme Court considered Dobbs v. Jackson, the case it used to overturn Roe v. Wade. Already, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to let the state immediately enforce the 2019 law.
The so-called heartbeat law allows women to end pregnancies that are not medically viable. It also allows abortions for women who become pregnant through rape or incest, but only up to 20 weeks, and only if they’ve reported their assault to the police.
The bill’s passage in 2019 led to calls for boycotts of Georgia, particularly by the film and television industry, which has moved many productions to the state, thanks to generous tax breaks. Some in the industry renewed the push to boycott the state after Friday’s ruling.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll in January showed nearly seven out of 10 Georgia voters opposed overturning Roe, including about 43% of Republican respondents. Voters were more closely split on Georgia’s 2019 law.
The Georgia law could also have a significant impact beyond the state’s borders. Two neighboring states, Alabama and Tennessee, had enacted so-called trigger laws, which imposed abortion bans as soon as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Alabama’s ban took effect Friday, and Tennessee’s will in no more than 30 days. Women from both states might have traveled to Georgia for abortions.
South Carolina enacted a law that echoes Georgia’s, and a Florida law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy is scheduled to go into effect this week. Among states that border Georgia, only North Carolina has enacted no abortion laws more restrictive than those allowed under Roe v. Wade.
Twenty-eight facilities perform abortions in Georgia, according to the abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia. How many might continue offering the procedure is unknown. If they close, no abortion clinic would be located within 200 miles of Atlanta, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
It also is not known whether Republican legislative leaders will try to enact even stricter abortion regulations when the General Assembly convenes next January.
Kemp pushed for the 2019 law, which passed with no support from Democratic lawmakers. Kemp, who praised the Supreme Court’s decision, is seeking re-election in November.
His Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, on Friday urged Georgians to “work to elect state leaders that will defend women’s rights.”
The issue is likely to shape debates not only for state races in Georgia but for U.S. House and Senate contests, where Republicans are attempting to flip both chambers.
Since Friday’s ruling, many Georgians who support abortion rights have reacted with a combination of despair and defiance.
Hundreds marched to the Capitol on Friday, and about 200 turned out for a second march Saturday evening. Capitol police blocked nearby streets, and a handful of counter-protesters appeared.
Anna Summerlin, 43, said she came to the Capitol to set an example for her 5-year-old daughter.
“She shouldn’t have to go backwards, thinking and worrying about her rights,” Summerlin said. “She has been taught that she has control over her body. Yet here we are today, and she doesn’t. Our government does.”
Jessica Stoeger, a teacher in Cobb County, said she wanted to join the protest not only because of the abortion decision but also because of another Supreme Court ruling that struck down a New York law regulating the concealed carry of handguns.
She held a sign that read, “Pro life would be 20 Sandy Hook students starting high school,” a reference to the 2012 mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
“We can’t protect our kids in schools because guns are more important than kids,” Stoeger said. “Babies that aren’t even born yet have more rights than I do as an adult. That’s unacceptable.”
Many protesters said they fear other freedoms will disappear along with the right to an abortion.
Gathegu Gatungo, who attended Friday evening’s rally, had an abortion when she was 17. Now 48, the Fulton County resident said she had always appreciated the fragility of the right to an abortion, and how lucky she had been to be able to exercise that right.
“They’re not just coming after our reproductive women, our reproductive rights — they’re coming after the LGBTQ community, they’re coming after our parents of trans kids, they’re coming after anybody and everybody who does not align with their whole fundamentalist Christian agenda and the vision that they have in store for this country and this world,” Gatungo said. “This is not about life, because if they actually cared about life then they wouldn’t allow people to possess weapons that kill children.”
Abortion opponents who demonstrated at the Capitol on Saturday described a long wait for the court’s ruling.
“Over the last 40 years, there have been so many opportunities for (the court) to do this and they’ve not done it, they haven’t had the courage to do it, they’ve missed opportunities, and then all of a sudden, they finally did it,” said Nathaniel Darnell, a 40-year-old Cobb County resident. “We’re just so excited. Can’t believe we lived to see this day.”
Several anti-abortion advocates said more resources are needed for women during and after pregnancy. They also described the court’s ruling not as a conclusion to their fight, but a beginning of a new phase.
“I think we have the momentum for the pro-life movement and we’re seeing how popular it is,” said Brian Cochran, 24, who founded an anti-abortion group at Georgia Tech. “We can do more. This is just the start.”
— Staff writers Jozsef Papp, Greg Bluestein, Hannah Ziegler, Sam Baskin and Mary Helene Hall contributed to this article.
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