Jun 24, 2022 - News

Georgia reacts to the overturning of Roe v. Wade

A caduceus with two gold plates from a scale of justice hanging from the wings of the staff

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

The split on the issue of abortion within Georgia remains stark, as reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade trickles in.

At the National Right to Life Conference, happening in Atlanta Friay, cheers broke out in the crowd as news broke, per the AJC's Maya Prabhu.

Planned Parenthood Southeast wrote, "Our doors are open and we are still providing all other reproductive health care services at this time ... Let's be clear: We'll never stop fighting for reproductive rights – not now, not ever."

Gov. Brian Kemp called the ruling "a historic victory for life" in a statement and said, "I look forward to its impact on the legal proceeding surrounding Georgia's LIFE Act, and hope our law will be fully implemented."

Stacey Abrams, in a statement shared on Twitter, called Georgia's law "draconian" and said, "I am appalled. Enraged. Undaunted & ready to fight back. Our freedom matters. Our rights matter. We will not be still."

What we're watching: Some Georgia Republicans have taken stands even further to the right than the state's anti-abortion law, pushing for total bans on abortion without exception, including Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker.

  • Kemp, meanwhile, dodged a question about a position on a total ban last month, pointing out that the state's existing law passed by just one vote.

Meanwhile, Dickens and the Atlanta City Council have supported an effort to make enforcement of anti-abortion laws "a low priority."

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show that lieutenant governor GOP nominee Burt Jones is not among Georgia Republicans pushing for total bans on abortion without exception.

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