I'm Conservative and I Oppose the Heartbeat Bill

Really, Brian Kemp? Really? Republicans have a bad enough reputation already, and you had to go and do this? The entire appeal of the Republican party is that their approach to government is what economist Adam Smith called “laissez-faire,” or hands-off government. Sure, that term is used in an economic context, but the same rule applies to the government’s interference in civilians’ lives. But the Georgia Heartbeat Bill has completely disregarded that principle.

A lot of people object to the bill not only because of its controlling nature, but also because it was created and passed by white men. I have less of a problem with the law being passed by white men. Those are the people that we elected to represent us. Even if you didn’t personally vote for him, that man was put into power by your neighbors and friends and family. Majority rules.

What I do have a problem with is the state government thinking that this bill is going to stop abortions. It won’t. What it is going to do is force women to have illegal, unsafe abortions which puts their lives at risk. Even if the whole point of the Heartbeat Bill is to save lives, it’s going to have the opposite effect.

And what about women who are in danger because of their pregnancy? If they are forced to give birth to that child, not only could the child die, but the mother could too. That’s two lives lost instead of one. Not only that, but should that woman seek to have an abortion, she could be prosecuted for murder for trying to save her own life. Imagine fighting to save your life, having to go through the emotional trauma of losing a child, and then receiving life in prison. That’s unacceptable.

I’m pro-life. That’s no secret. I think the life of an embryo has value and shouldn’t be thrown away. But what we should be focusing on is reducing pregnancy instead of prosecuting women who end up pregnant and don’t want to be. If the number of unwanted pregnancies are reduced, so are the number of abortions. That’s clear-cut logic. So Georgia should focus on cheaper, more easily-accessible options for birth control, as well as broader access to child care services. If the Georgia government could reduce the cost of raising a child (or preventing that child in the first place), the number of abortions would dramatically drop.

By Caroline Parrish