Local Leaders Call Out Republicans’ Push for Extreme Abortion Ban in Georgia

Today, following calls from Georgia Republican candidates and elected officials to make abortion totally illegal, local Democratic leaders in Savannah came together to highlight how the push to ban abortion is dangerous for women and wildly out of touch with the vast majority of voters.

Hours after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Gov. Brian Kemp pushed the federal court that originally blocked his extreme six-week abortion ban to make it the law of the land in Georgia. Now, Kemp, GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker, and Republicans across the state are pushing to go even further and fully outlaw abortion. In the Senate, Walker would support a nationwide ban without exceptions.

WATCH HERE from WSAV:

Republican candidates across Georgia support the six-week ban, but also want to go further to make abortion totally illegal. Kemp, Walker, and Georgia GOP candidates’ positions are out of step with Georgia voters. 68% of Georgians, per an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll from January, oppose the overturning of Roe v. Wade and do not support a six-week ban or further restrictions.

Download hi-res footage and photos here.

“Despite the fact that about 7 in 10 Georgians support Roe v. Wade, GOP candidates up and down the ticket here in Georgia have promised to ban all abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother. It’s absolutely urgent that we elect Stacey Abrams as governor so she can veto any legislation that further restricts abortion rights, and work to reverse Kemp’s extreme bill that will soon be the law of the land in Georgia,” said State Rep. Derek Mallow.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will jeopardize the health care of millions of women all around the country, and Republican politicians are already pushing forward on their long-held goals to strip health care protections away from women by restricting abortion,” said Anne Allen Westbrook, candidate for Georgia State House District 163. “Herschel Walker, Republicans’ candidate for U.S. Senate, would support making abortion illegal not just in Georgia, but across the country if elected. He said he wants to ban all abortions – even in cases of rape, incest, or where the mother’s life is in danger. No exceptions. This is extremism, plain and simple. And it will endanger Georgia women’s lives. Politicians do not belong in the most deeply personal health care decisions that a woman makes. We must stand up to Republican candidates up and down the ballot who are trying to force their extreme positions into women’s private medical decisions.”

“Let’s be clear about this — Georgia Republicans are pushing some of the most extreme and anti-choice policies to date. They are moving full speed ahead to restrict freedoms, place themselves between women and their doctors, and take Georgia down a very dangerous path,” said Wade Herring, candidate for Georgia’s 1st Congressional District. “Hours afterthe disastrous Supreme Court ruling was issued, Attorney General Chris Carr filed a request to allow Kemp’s dangerous abortion ban to take effect. Brian Kemp praised the Supreme Court decision and refuses to rule out an even stricter abortion bill. Burt Jones has also stated his support for a complete and total ban on abortion with no exceptions. And my opponent, Buddy Carter, praised the Supreme Court decision not long after it was released. The Republican Party is being very clear about what they will do should they regain power, and it is up to us to vote so that it does not happen.”

“They’re talking about making decisions based on nothing that they know about. They don’t know if a person has been raped —that is what is going on today. What it seems like to me is that we are regressing to what it used to be — and I can tell you because in the 60s, these fights were going on,” said State Rep. Edna Jackson. “Join me and join our elected officials, those that have been elected and those that will be elected, because the polling place is where the decisions, changing decisions, can be made. They think that they have a lot of power, but the power is in us as registered voters.”

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