Democratic Party of Georgia Commemorates Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Amid Georgia GOP War on Reproductive Freedom

As Georgia Democrats celebrate the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade health case, Georgia Republicans like Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are using public office to support efforts restricting reproductive freedom in Georgia. Meanwhile, David Perdue, who is also vying to lead our state, has yet to tell Georgians where he stands on the GOP’s egregious attempts to ban abortion, despite the fact that he indicated support for Kemp’s anti-abortion policies in 2019 and sponsored abortion restrictions in the Senate.

“Forty-nine years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade affirmed the fundamental right of reproductive freedom – a resounding ruling that seventy percent of Georgians still support today. But as we mark this important anniversary, reproductive rights in Georgia are in greater danger than ever as Republicans double down on efforts to ban abortion, even in cases of rape or incest,” said Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Reproductive freedom is a fundamental right, and we must do everything in our power to stop egregious government overreach into Georgians’ private reproductive health care decisions – starting with voting anti-choice Republicans like Brian Kemp and Chris Carr out of office. While Georgia Republicans have made it clear that they will always put partisan extremism first, Georgia Democrats will never stop fighting to safeguard reproductive freedom.”

Read more about Republican elected officials’ relentless anti-abortion campaign in Georgia:

As governor, Brian Kemp has spoken out in favor of a new Texas abortion ban, which would essentially put bounties on the heads of people seeking or providing abortion care. 

• The Texas law encourages residents to sue women seeking abortions, health care providers who help them, and even those who drive people to abortion clinics for as much as $10,000.
• In response, Kemp said he “appreciate[d]” the Texas law, which makes no exceptions in cases of rape or incest, and vowed “to stay in the fight” to restrict reproductive freedom. 

As the Supreme Court considers a case that could gut Roe v. Wade, Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are publicly rooting for the court to dismantle the right to abortion. 

• Kemp tweeted that he joins “thousands of pro-life conservatives across the country…in prayer” that the Mississippi challenge to abortion rights succeeds. 
• As Attorney General, Carr intervened in the case on behalf of Georgia, writing a brief asking the Supreme Court asking to uphold Mississippi’s abortion ban.

Kemp has bragged about signing the “toughest abortion bill in the country” in 2019, which sought to criminalize abortion at a point in pregnancy where many people don’t even realize they are pregnant. 

• Kemp said of the bill, “I campaigned on signing the toughest abortion bill in the country, and this is the toughest one we’ve got in the Legislature now.”
• The ACLU said that the law “would ban practically all abortions in the state and disproportionately affect people of color, people struggling financially, and rural Georgians,” noting that the law is “especially dangerous” in Georgia, where people face some of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the nation.

Brian Kemp and Chris Carr are still in court trying to ban abortion in Georgia after a federal judge struck down their bill as unconsitutional.

• After a 2020 federal judge blocked Kemp’s bill, ruling that it infringed on Georgians’ constitutional rights, Kemp appealed the decision, vowing to “keep fighting” against abortion rights.
• In September 2021, Chris Carr was back in court appealing the ruling in attempt to revitalize Republicans’ six-week abortion ban in Georgia.

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