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Lawmakers Pass Abortion Bill At Deadline
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Vowing to take their case to the polls, chanting, “Women will remember in November,” a line of women Senators walked out of both the House and Senate wrapped in police tape after the abortion bill passed both chambers.
The bill shortens the period a woman in Georgia can have an abortion from 26 to 20 weeks. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
The biggest compromise was the exemption for "medically futile" pregnancies-- giving doctors the option to abort a fetus that would not survive birth. Doctors would also be protected from civil suits.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative Doug McKillip of Athens still considered the amended bill a victory:
"Given that right now we have no enforceable abortion statute, we were willing to make that concession to make sure we have some teeth to put into what we have here in the state."
GOP leadership in the Senate shut debate down after only five minutes and called for a final vote. Democrats like Senator Valencia Ceay were furious:
“We will not stand silently by and let the men in this chamber decide on our rights for our bodies and your God Darn right, we are mad!”
The bill will go to the Governor’s desk for a signature next.
Tags: abortion bill, parker wallace