(Atlanta, GA) — The Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus today introduced the Reproductive Freedom Amendment (SR136). The Amendment would repeal Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, and advance reproductive freedom rights in Georgia by enshrining these rights in the Georgia Constitution.
The reproductive freedom rights protected under the amendment include the right for women to make their own healthcare decisions around anything related to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.
Senate Democratic Caucus Leader Gloria Butler said, “The fact is, reproductive healthcare includes so much more than abortion, and Georgia is currently doing a severely inadequate job of providing accessible reproductive healthcare to all of its citizens.”
“Right now, Georgia is among the states with the worst maternal mortality and maternal and child health in the nation. We’re just beginning to receive data that shows that Georgia’s six-week abortion ban (HB481) has exacerbated this already dire situation. By introducing this Amendment, we’re going beyond repairing the damage done by HB481 and taking steps to protect women’s lives now and in the future,” Butler said.
The Reproductive Freedom Amendment mirrors one that was approved by voters late last year in Michigan, enshrining reproductive freedom in the state constitution.
Senator Sally Harrell, who recently introduced the Reproductive Freedom Act said, “What’s important about this amendment is that it would take us a step further than enshrining reproductive freedom rights in the Georgia state legal code. It would enshrine it in the State Constitution, protecting Georgians’ rights no matter the whims of Georgia legislators out of touch with what the majority of Georgians want.”
The Senate Democratic Caucus stands firm in the recognition that comprehensive, accessible reproductive healthcare is lifesaving care that all Georgians, regardless of their race, economic status or zip code, deserve access to.
As Senator Nabilah Islam said at a press conference on Reproductive Rights last month in response to the damage the GOP has done with HB481, “We did not ask for this fight. We did not want this fight. But we will finish this fight.”