Valkyrie
14th December 2002, 18:23
Georgia Abortion Bill Draws Criticism
By MARK NIESSE
ATLANTA (AP) - Even Georgia abortion opponents are criticizing a bill that would force women who want an abortion to go through a trial and have a judge sign a death warrant for an ``execution.''
The bill, which likely has little chance of passage, would provide legal representation for the fetus and balance its rights with the rights of the woman before granting an abortion.
State Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican from suburban Atlanta, said he prefiled the bill last month in the House to recognize the rights of unborn children. The bill went unnoticed until recently, when lawmakers began preparing for the upcoming Jan. 13 start of the session.
``For the last 30 years, these little boys and girls have been receiving the death sentence, but there hasn't been a trial,'' Franklin said. ``They've been put to death without any due process. These are little boys and little girls that we need to protect.''
Abortion rights supporters criticized the bill as an attempt to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.
``This is probably the most grotesque bill we've seen,'' said Ebony Barley, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. ``This would increase the risk to women - they would seek to get an abortion illegally.''
The bill doesn't have much support even among Republicans, who instead favor creating a law to inform women about the surgical consequences of an abortion, said House Republican Leader Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County.
Abortion opponents oppose Franklin's proposed law because it makes them appear extreme and unreasonable, said Randy Hicks of the Georgia Family Council, which works with communities to advocate fatherhood, marriage and abstinence.
``I understand the sentiment expressed in the bill, I just don't know if it's the best approach,'' Hicks said.
On the Net:
House Bill 1: http://www2.state.ga.us/legis/2003-04/fulltext/hb1.htm
Georgia Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League: http://www.garal.org
By MARK NIESSE
ATLANTA (AP) - Even Georgia abortion opponents are criticizing a bill that would force women who want an abortion to go through a trial and have a judge sign a death warrant for an ``execution.''
The bill, which likely has little chance of passage, would provide legal representation for the fetus and balance its rights with the rights of the woman before granting an abortion.
State Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican from suburban Atlanta, said he prefiled the bill last month in the House to recognize the rights of unborn children. The bill went unnoticed until recently, when lawmakers began preparing for the upcoming Jan. 13 start of the session.
``For the last 30 years, these little boys and girls have been receiving the death sentence, but there hasn't been a trial,'' Franklin said. ``They've been put to death without any due process. These are little boys and little girls that we need to protect.''
Abortion rights supporters criticized the bill as an attempt to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.
``This is probably the most grotesque bill we've seen,'' said Ebony Barley, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. ``This would increase the risk to women - they would seek to get an abortion illegally.''
The bill doesn't have much support even among Republicans, who instead favor creating a law to inform women about the surgical consequences of an abortion, said House Republican Leader Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County.
Abortion opponents oppose Franklin's proposed law because it makes them appear extreme and unreasonable, said Randy Hicks of the Georgia Family Council, which works with communities to advocate fatherhood, marriage and abstinence.
``I understand the sentiment expressed in the bill, I just don't know if it's the best approach,'' Hicks said.
On the Net:
House Bill 1: http://www2.state.ga.us/legis/2003-04/fulltext/hb1.htm
Georgia Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League: http://www.garal.org