Georgia’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Takes Effect Immediately
This week, on July 20, Georgia’s 11th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the passing of the state’s six-week abortion ban, which had previously been deemed unconstitutional and blocked since 2019. The court did not wait the usual 28 days for an official mandate to be issued. The ban goes into effect immediately, and many Georgians will be blocked from legal access to abortion care before they even know they are pregnant.
A joint statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Georgia, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Southeast, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America said:
“This is a highly unorthodox action that will immediately push essential abortion care out of reach for patients beyond the earliest stages of pregnancy. Across the state, providers are now being forced to turn away patients who thought they would be able to access abortion, immediately changing the course of their lives and futures. This is horrific. We’ll continue doing everything in our power to fight for abortion access in Georgia in the face of these harmful attacks on people’s ability to control if and when to have a child.”
Read more here: Center for Reproductive Rights
Kansas Will Be The First State To Vote On Abortion After Roe
On August 2, Kansas will be the first US state to open the abortion debate to the public, with a vote on whether the state constitution should include an amendment that says Kansas does not guarantee access to abortions, and is not required to provide funding for abortions.
Currently, abortion is allowed up to 22 weeks in Kansas. A yes vote on the ballot, called “Value Them Both”, would add this new amendment and open the possibility for restrictions or outright abortion bans in the state.
Republican Kansas Sen. Molly Baumgardner said: “The idea that working families may have their hard-earned tax dollars used for abortion is unconscionable…Value Them Both sets a positive vision for Kansas, not the dark outlook of an unlimited abortion industry.”
Democrat Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said she is against “regressive legislation that interferes with individual freedoms.” Kelly has not, however, specifically mentioned the amendment vote.
Read more here: PBS
Women’s Health Protection Act Passes In The House
Last Friday, July 15, the US House of Representatives voted to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act for the second time within a year. If enacted, this bill would create federal protections for abortion access, even in states that have already moved to ban abortion.
The House voted on this bill for the first time in September of 2021, following Texas’ enforcement of its six-week abortion ban. While the bill passed in the House, it did not gather enough votes in the Senate to overcome the filibuster.
Read more here: Center for Reproductive Rights
Abortion Access Front Releases ‘Operation Save Abortion‘ Activism Toolkit
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24th, the landscape on abortion in the U.S. has been rapidly changing. If you want to help support and protect reproductive rights in the US, the Abortion Access Front has released a series of panels and talks on protecting reproductive rights, along with an activism toolkit to help you find paths to action.
Learn more and access the panels, videos and toolkit here: Abortion Access Front
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