Southeast Planned Parenthood says they'll help patients cross state lines if Roe V. Wade is overturned
In April, women held signs to protest the Georgia abortion bill at the state Capitol in Atlanta. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp. A federal lawsuit was filed Friday challenging the law, set to take effect Jan. 1, that effectively bans abortions about six weeks into a pregnancy.
John Bazemore / Associated Press
If the leaked draft of the majority opinion to strike down Roe v. Wade holds up in the nation’s highest court, Planned Parenthood officials told WABE they’re prepared to aid abortion patients cross state lines.
Hundreds of both anti-abortion and abortion rights advocates are already protesting outside the Supreme Court after the leaked draft ruling was published by Politico on Monday. More protests took over Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park.
As written now, the draft ruling leaves the legality of abortion, and how far along in a pregnancy a woman can undergo the procedure, up to the states.
So what does this mean for Georgia patients and women seeking an abortion in other Republican-led states that have sought to pass sweeping reproductive rights overhauls?
“If Roe is overturned, for us, we will likely see Governor Kemp’s six-week abortion ban that was passed in 2019 be enacted,” said Lauren Frazier, director of communications and marketing with Planned Parenthood Southeast.
The anti-abortion bill signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019 to take effect was blocked by a federal appeals court that decided to hold off until the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the lawsuit from Mississippi. The Georgia law would ban women from getting an abortion once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, which is about six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
“In terms of preparation for us, we are obviously working very closely with our partners on the ground. We are working to make sure our abortion funds are very well funded,” Frazier said.
“If it’s the case that our patients need to travel out of state for care, if they need support with hotels and travel, that is the type of support we’ll make sure our patients will be able to get. No matter what.”
Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams reacts to leaked SCOTUS draft
Georgia lawmakers such as Congresswoman Nikema Williams also reacted to the leaked potential ruling, which they warn will disproportionately impact women of color in Georgia. Williams, who worked for Planned Parenthood for a decade, told WABE she heard from those women who “made tremendous sacrifices to get the abortion care they needed. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, those sacrifices will put reproductive healthcare out of reach for millions of people, or force them into dangerous, unregulated procedures.”
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