ATLANTA — Following the news that Georgia's "heartbeat" bill is now the law in the state, 11Alive is hearing from advocates who work in both the anti-abortion and pro-choice communities.
Suzanne Guy and Tamara Stevens have been in and around the Georgia State Capitol since day one, either defending or trying to get the heartbeat bill overturned.
Guy is the founder of 40 days for Life and Life Initiatives, says she is pro-life and has long supported what she calls a common-sense law. She also helps pregnant mothers seek resources to help if they're family planning or to help them reconsider abortions by providing resources during their pregnancies.
Stevens is a part of the Handmaid Coalition, a grassroots organization born out of the 2019 legislative session surrounding the bill. The group is known to wear costumes similar to the uniforms worn in the popular dystopian drama, "The Handmaid's Tale." She is also a Planned Parenthood escort.
We asked both advocates their thoughts on the bill, what they think will happen as a result and what they plan to do to support women seeking abortions or pregnant mothers.
INITIAL REACTION
Guy: “I just started thanking God, this is such an answer to prayer. We have waited so long for this bill, this legislation to be allowed to go into effect because as we know, Gov. Kemp signed it back in May of 2019."
Stevens: “When the Supreme Court draft was leaked, we knew this was coming. Doesn’t make it any easier. There are actual women who had appointments scheduled for tomorrow that are being canceled.”
WHY THEY OPPOSE OR SUPPORT THE BILL
Guy: “It is going to save thousands of lives of innocent children and also spare thousands of women and men the regret of abortion. All the precious Georgians whose lives will be protected and saved, and what that means for future generations. Because those children who are saved will have children, and they'll have children.”
Stevens: “The fact that we live in a state that has the highest maternal mortality rate and now we’re going to force women to go through this, it makes no sense. It is primarily going to affect poor women in rural communities more than in cities and definitely Black and brown women will be affected in ways we can’t even imagine.”
POSSIBLE FALLOUT FROM THE BILL
Guy: “As for those precious moms, I care deeply about women who are in crisis, unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. And there are so many fantastic resources out there and there's so much help for them. And they will be spared the regret and trauma of abortion, that abortion causes women and men.”
Stevens: “There are women who will quickly choose to have an abortion the minute they find out they’re pregnant under six weeks, that may have chosen otherwise if they had some time to process it. There are women in abusive relationships that are going to face this abuse, and if they don’t kill them, they will beat them until they spontaneously miscarry.”
HOW THIS PLAYS OUT DURING ELECTIONS
Guy: “Republicans coming together and supporting Brian Kemp. And more than ever, we need unity in the conservative movement. Republicans need to fully get behind Governor Kemp.”
Stevens: “The messaging, the signs, the debates, I don’t think any of that is going to matter this year, it’s all going to be getting out the vote. The turnout. People who previously identified as Republican voters, I think there’s going to be a lot of quiet turnover, particularly among women.”
WHAT'S NEXT AS FAR AS RESOURCES
Guy: Pregnancy resource centers are a fantastic resource for women that find themselves in an unplanned, unwanted or crisis pregnancy. If the reason that they are seeking an abortion or want an abortion is financial, my organization and other organizations and the pregnancy resource centers help women get their rent paid for, we throw baby showers, there are so many things, we help try to find them a car if they need a car. But it's also about loving those women and men while they're pregnant and after they're pregnant."
Stevens: ”There's already great organizations that are run by Black and brown women and Planned Parenthood that have spent months preparing for this. We just have got to fund, we’ve got to fund people’s travel to other states, we’ve got to do whatever it takes to ensure that the women of Georgia have the support and the access to abortion that they need.”