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Pro-choice advocates continued protests outside Georgia Capitol
Pro-choice activists said they were "outraged" over the Heartbeat Bill in Georgia and continued their rallying to march the streets in Atlanta on Saturday. This rallying comes after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to protect access to abortion on Friday.
ATLANTA - Abortion advocates staged a new round of protests in Atlanta Saturday in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to end a constitutional right to the procedure two weeks ago.
Pro-choice activist say they want to take a stand against any potential state laws that could limit women's access to an abortion. They also say they want more federal protections for reproductive rights, including codifying the right to privacy nationwide, abortion rights, and striking down Georgia's "heartbeat" law.
"We definitely want the six-week ban to not be implemented, not make it through the courts. We believe it is a serious infringement on the rights of people with uteruses everywhere," pro-choice activist "Mia" told FOX 5.
Georgia lawmakers in 2019 passed a law by one vote that would ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, when fetal cardiac activity can be detected. The measure is unlike other "heartbeat" bills in that it also contains language designating a fetus as a person for certain state-law purposes such as income tax deductions and child support. The measure was put on hold right before the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals pending the Supreme Court's decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
Legal experts say the law is likely to take effect, something that pro-life activists are pleased about.
"Every abortion ends in a death and that is more significant to me than the possibility of someone dying in childbirth," said James Wallace, a pro-life activist.
STATE BY STATE: WHERE ABORTION WILL BE ILLEGAL AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING
On Friday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to protect access to abortion. The actions he outlined are intended to mitigate some potential penalties women seeking abortion may face after the ruling but are limited in their ability to safeguard access to abortion nationwide. Biden acknowledged the limitations facing his office, saying it would require an act of Congress to restore access to abortion in the more than a dozen states where strict limits or total bans have gone into effect in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling.