Editorial: America’s War On Abortion

By, Undria Wilson | Special To Corridor News

Within a few months, Americans have shared their protest of the recent Alabama and Georgia abortion ban laws that have taken media headlines by storm.

On Wednesday, May 15, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a measure banning all abortions at any point during gestation, except in cases where the woman’s life is in danger.

The law is the nation’s strictest abortion ban, according to refinery29.com. Just a few days before, Georgia became the fourth state this year alone to ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat (which is not a real “heartbeat” at all, according to some doctors) is detected. But is abortion really illegal in these states?

“Abortion is still legal in all the states that have passed abortion bans,” Quita Tinsley, deputy director of ARC-Southeast, told Refinery29.com. There’s a lot of misinterpretation of what the abortion bills mean and how they impact patients.

In Alabama, patients can legally terminate their pregnancies up until 21.6 weeks of pregnancy. If a woman is seeking to terminate an abortion, they will undergo a 48-hour waiting period and state-mandated counseling before they can access the procedure.

However, in Georgia, women can legally obtain an abortion up until 22 weeks of pregnancy. Patients who seek to terminate an abortion must also undergo a 24-hour waiting period and state-mandated counseling before they seek the procedure.

The ban in Alabama criminalizes the abortion providers, not the women who seek the procedure.

In Georgia, the rules are more tangled. The “heartbeat” ban does not directly state women who terminate their pregnancies are exempt from prosecution.

According to refinery29.com, legal experts believe women will not be punished under Georgia’s because the state’s legal code offers certain, specific protections for women.

Georgia’s “Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act” (HB 481) bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which happens around six weeks of gestation. This bill makes exceptions for rape, incest and when the woman’s life is in danger. Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill on May 7.

Alabama’s “Human Life Protection Act” (HB’s 314) bans abortions at any stage of gestation, except in cases in which the woman’s life is in danger. There are no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill on May 15, stating that legislation makes performing an abortion a felony offense and would punish providers with the minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 99 years.

Georgia’s HB 481 is supposed to go into effect in January 2020, Alabama’s HB 314 will go into effect in November 2019.

Women have a constitutionally protected right to decide whether and when to become a parent, including the right to terminate a pregnancy. While Texas cannot prohibit abortions outright, the state can impose some restrictions.

According to the ACLU of Texas, the bill bans abortions after 20 weeks post-fertilization, unless you have a life-threatening medical condition or the fetus has a severe abnormality. Under Texas law, after 16 weeks post-fertilization, your abortion can only be performed at an ambulatory surgical center or hospital.

Texas law requires you to make at least two trips to the abortion provider.

The state also requires you to wait 24 hours after receiving the sonogram and state-mandated paperwork before having your abortion. This 24-hour waiting period can be waived if you live 100 miles or more from the nearest abortion provider.

Because of recent regulations like those enacted as part of House Bill 2 in 2013, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of abortion providers in Texas. The following cities have more than one or more abortion providers: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, McAllen, and San Antonio.

Texas law mandates that the doctor who performs your sonogram must be the same doctor who performs your abortion. The state also requires you to schedule any follow-up appointments with the same doctor.

This means you cannot get your sonogram from one healthcare provider, and then go to a different doctor for the actual procedure.

This is an editorial contribution.