Politics

Heartbeat Bill protests expected on final day of General Assembly

ATLANTA — Protests are being planned for the final day of the Georgia General Assembly as demonstrators hope to convince Gov. Brian Kemp not to sign the so-called Heartbeat Bill into law.

The bill would ban abortions in Georgia once a doctor could detect a fetal heartbeat, approximately six weeks into a pregnancy.

Opponents told Channel 2 political reporter Richard Elliot that because most women do not know they are pregnant at six weeks, the bill would essentially ban all abortions in Georgia

State Rep. Ed Setzler, of Acworth, authored the bill and believes its needed and necessary to protect unborn children.

“All along this is a very important substantive issue in Georgia,” Setzler said shortly after passage of the bill. “This is an issue where we’re carefully balancing the very difficult circumstances women find themselves in with the basic right to life of a child. That’s what this is.”

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Hollywood stars took to social media over the weekend to condemn the bill.

“I guess we won’t be shooting movies and TV in Georgia anymore if this moves forward,” producer and director Judd Apatow tweeted.

“If Georgia is going to stop pretending it cares about women’s rights by banning abortion, we should stop pretending we want to go there for work,” actress and comedian Chelsea Handler tweeted.

Meanwhile, the ACLU of Georgia is already preparing a lawsuit once the governor signs the bill into law.

“The bill is unconstitutional, because our constitution protects our freedom to make our own health care decisions in the context of abortion,” ACLU of Georgia’s legal director Sean Young told Elliot. “No woman or man would ever want a politician to make their health care decisions for them.

Tuesday is sine die, the final day of the General Assembly.

Lawmakers will decide on a variety of other bills, including a proposed state takeover of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the Medical Marijuana Cultivation Bill.