Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (Chris Aluka Berry/Reuters) This morning, Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed into law a “heartbeat bill,” which prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually about six weeks into pregnancy. The state legislature passed the bill in late March and it has been awaiting Kemp’s signature, though he assured Republicans and pro-life activists in his state that he intended to approve the measure. Advertisement The legislation is the latest in a series of state efforts to regulate abortion earlier in pregnancy. Already this year, legislatures in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Ohio have passed heartbeat bills that were subsequently signed by Republican governors. A few months ago, Iowa’s heartbeat bill was struck down by a state judge, who found that it violated the Iowa state constitution. After Georgia’s legislature passed the bill, the ACLU announced its intention to sue the state government should Kemp sign the bill, and a number of celebrities, including actress and progressive activist Alyssa Milano, have threatened to boycott the state over the legislation. Though it is unlikely that courts will uphold this type of legislation in the near future, without action on the part of the Supreme Court to loosen the pro-abortion regime created by Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, heartbeat bills are still a valuable tool in a broader pro-life legislative strategy. Advertisement Abortion-rights supporters consistently describe abortion procedures in euphemistic terms, dismissing embryos or fetuses in the womb as a “clump of cells” or “just part of its mother.” One pro-life activist reports that at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in April on the federal 20-week abortion ban, a pro-abortion state senator from Georgia, Jen Jordan, lamented the bill pending in her state as containing protections for children possessing “what some call a heartbeat.” These are the rhetorical games abortion defenders must play to hide the reality of the right they seek to defend and promote. Heartbeat bills force us to consider the reality of abortion rather than the meaningless jargon concocted to disguise it. What woman has two heartbeats? And what “clump of cells” has its own heartbeat? Because of bills like the one signed today in Georgia, more people are considering the scientific reality of fetal heartbeats and the biological reality that every fetus is a distinct, living human being.<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Giuliani did an on-camera interview with One America News Network's Chanel Rion before talking to other journalists about Vice President Joe Biden and the news that Russian intelligence may have paid Taliban operatives to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Vigils & tributes to George Floyd one year since his murder ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Begun in 1974, CPAC brings together conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to discuss issues important to them. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Here's what reported grand jury in Trump case may look like NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: People walk past the Trump Tower as the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins in Washington on February 09, 2021 in New York City. After listening to nearly four hours of legal arguments, the Senate has voted on Tuesday to move ahead with the impeachment trial of former President Trump. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Report: US companies may have benefited from forced labor of Uyghurs WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict in the Middle East from Cross- Hall of the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Israel and Hamas announced that they would agree to a cease-fire, which will take into effect on Friday, following days of fighting that claimed more than 200 lives. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 26: A view of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light-rail yard where a mass shooting occurred on May 26, 2021 in San Jose, California. A VTA employee opened fire at the yard, with preliminary reports indicating nine people dead including the gunman. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, center, signs legislation, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Atlanta, banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks before many women know they're pregnant. Kemp said he was signing the bill "to ensure that all Georgians have the opportunity to live, grow, learn and prosper in our great state." (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Programming note: For more on reproductive rights, watch “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. (CNN) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign a bill Tuesday that would ban abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, his spokesman Cody Hall told CNN. Currently in Georgia, women are allowed to undergo abortion procedures up to their 20th week of pregnancy. Starting on January 1, the bill Kemp signed generally would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy – when many women don’t yet know they’re pregnant. “(The bill) is very simple but also very powerful: a declaration that all life has value, that all life matters, and that all life is worthy of protection,” Kemp, flanked by supporters of the bill, said Tuesday morning before signing the legislation at the state Capitol. “I realize that some may challenge it in a court of law. But our job is to do what is right, not what is easy. We are called to be strong and courageous, and we will not back down. We will always continue to fight for life.” “No abortion is authorized or shall be performed if the unborn child has been determined to have a human heartbeat,” the bill states, unless the pregnancy risks the life or poses substantial and irreversible physical harm to the pregnant woman. Proponents, such as the Republican author, state Rep. Ed Setzler, say abortion is a “barbaric procedure” and that many other options exist for women, including adoption and the “morning after” pill. Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say Georgia’s legislation “would ban safe, legal abortion and criminalize the most intimate decision women and couples make.” Outside the Capitol, dozens protested the legislation Tuesday morning – including four women dressed in red cloaks in the style of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Those four stood in silent protest, holding signs with various messages, including “Trust Women.” Jessica Ravitz/CNN A woman dressed in a red cloak evoking "The Handmaid's Tale" protests outside Georgia's Capitol. Another protester, Gloria Tatum, held a sign reading, “Say no to Republican and anti-woman sexist laws.” Tatum said that if supporters of bills such as this have their way, Roe v. Wade will be overturned and access to abortion will be gone. Women are not going to take it, she said. “They will get a revolution in this country like they’ve never seen before, because we are not going back,” said Tatum, 76, of Decatur, Georgia. ACLU and Planned Parenthood say legislation will be challenged<doc-sep>Georgia became the 4th state this year to prohibit abortions once a doctor can detect the first fetal heartbeat — which can be as early as 6 weeks into pregnancy — after Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law on Tuesday. Why it matters: Georgia criminalizing the procedure at a point when many women remain unaware they are pregnant comes as a growing number of Republican-led state legislatures are seeking to overturn abortion rights. Many conservatives, emboldened by Justice Brett Kavanaugh's elevation last year, are hoping to land a successful suit before the Supreme Court to overturn or weaken Roe v. Wade — the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal nationwide. Details: Under current Georgia state law, abortions are allowed up to the 20th week of pregnancy. The fetal heartbeat measure includes an exception for rape and incest — but only when an "official police report has been filed" first alleging either offense — and to save the mother’s life. It would also allow abortions when a fetus is determined not to be viable due to serious medical issues. The measure won't go into effect until January 2020. It has garnered widespread backlash and will likely be held up by legal challenges, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia already stating that it plans to sue. "Georgia can't afford to go backwards on women's health and rights. We will act to block this assault on women's health, rights, and self-determination." — Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, in a statement Monday The state of play: Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed a similar measure into law last month, as did Mississippi's GOP Gov. Phil Bryant in March. Kentucky’s was temporarily blocked in March by a federal judge shortly after being signed into law. In January, Iowa's measure was declared unconstitutional by a state judge. A number of other states, including Louisiana, South Carolina and West Virginia, are considering identical measures. Go deeper: A surge of restrictive state abortion bans take aim at Roe v. Wade<doc-sep>Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in an interview that the Georgia legislation is part of a larger landscape of nearly 300 antiabortion bills introduced so far this year in 36 states. Many of them contain far-reaching provisions, such as one in Georgia that allows authorities to investigate women who miscarry, and one in Texas that would allow capital punishment for those receiving or performing an abortion.<doc-sep>
Brian Kemp on election night Nov. 6, 2018, on his way to becoming Georgia’s governor Photo : Getty With a stroke of a pen Tuesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp basically outlawed abortions in his state, signing into law the so-called heartbeat bill. The heartbeat bill, aka Georgia House Bill 481, outlaws abortions after the first sign of a fetal heartbeat, which can occur as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy — often before a woman even realizes that she is pregnant. Exceptions will be made in cases of rape or incest — but only if a woman files a police report first — or to save the life of the mother, the Associated Press reports. “I’m signing this bill to ensure all Georgians have the opportunity to live, grow, learn and prosper in the great state of Georgia,” Kemp said. The law, which is to take effect Jan. 1, is among the most restrictive abortion legislation in the nation, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and it already has activists gearing to battle it in court. Staci Fox, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast, said she had one message for Kemp, the AP reports: “We will see you, sir, in court.” Sean Young, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, also vowed that his group would sue to have the law overturned. “Under 50 years of Supreme Court precedent, this abortion ban is clearly unconstitutional,” Young told AP. But as the AJC explains, Georgia’s law is among more than a dozen pieces of similar legislation in Republican-run states around the nation, all supported in hopes of overturning the nation’s historic pro-choice law, Roe v. Wade: At least 15 states, ranging from Maryland to Texas, are considering versions of “heartbeat” legislation in 2019. Governors in Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio all have signed similar “heartbeat bills.” A federal judge has already issued a preliminary injunction against the Kentucky law, and similar laws enacted in recent years in Iowa and North Dakota have also been struck down in the courts. Alabama is considering an even stricter bill that would make it a felony to perform abortions in almost all cases. Abortions could be performed only if the woman’s life is at risk. In Georgia, the new law’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Ed Setzler, “called the bill a ‘common sense’ measure that seeks to ‘balance the difficult circumstances women find themselves in with the basic right to life of a child,’” the AP reported. The law allows for “alimony, child support and even income tax deductions for fetuses, declaring that ‘the full value of a child begins at the point when a detectable human heartbeat exists.’” But opposing lawmakers said women will die if this law remains in effect. As Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan told the AP, “It’s an all-out abortion ban. “It’s about the unintended consequences,” she continued. “They’re making policy choices that are going to end up causing women to die, and they’re preventable deaths.”