A federal judge this week temporarily blocked Georgia’s controversial abortion ban from going into effect. HB 481 would have banned abortions as soon as fetal cardiac activity could be detected via a medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound—often as early as 6 weeks (or two weeks after a woman’s missed period).
In his opinion, the judge cited Roe v. Wade, emphasizing that the new law violates the constitutional right to privacy. Judges across the country have entered similar orders blocking abortion bans. Women’s health advocates, progressives, and abortion clinics have celebrated a temporary end to these bans, which are proven to kill women.
This temporary surge of hope obscures the terror that lies ahead. Republicans enacted these abortion bans specifically so that federal district courts would block them. When lower courts strike down these laws, it enables states to appeal to the Supreme Court, where they have a real chance of ending choice as we know it.
Why Republicans Want Courts to Strike Down Abortion Laws
Now that several federal judges have halted state-level abortion bans, Republican lawmakers can petition the Supreme Court to hear their appeal. It seems likely that the Court will accept certiorari, especially given that most of the justices are on record as abortion opponents. And if the Court does hear the case, Roe v. Wade is in trouble. A reversal of that precedent would allow states to ban abortions. It could even open the door to a federal ban on abortion if Republicans regain control of Congress.
Republican lawmakers have put progressives and women’s health advocates in an impossible position: they can sue to fight state-level abortion bans, and risk the Supreme Court eventually hearing the argument. Or they can do nothing and watch misogynist laws kill women.
Gambling With Women’s Lives
I’ve written extensively about how heartbeat legislation and similar bans kill and injure women. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world. The rate is rising even as it falls in other countries.
Georgia, the state with one of the most restrictive bans, has the highest maternal death rate in the nation—a rate that is higher than 100 other countries, including Iran and Ecuador. For white women in Georgia, abortion is 70 times safer than giving birth. For black women, it’s 111 times safer.
Maternal mortality is not inevitable or a natural consequence of pregnancy. In European nations such as Finland, maternal mortality is virtually unheard of—3 women per 100,000, a death rate similar to minor medical procedures such as tonsilectomy.
This shows that high maternal mortality is a choice. It’s a consequence of an exorbitantly expensive healthcare system that doesn’t provide quality care. Many stories of maternal deaths feature women begging for help as doctors ignore them. Whether it’s in the delivery room or in the fight against abortion, we're ignoring the voices of women. The consequences are deadly.
Republicans will gleefully do whatever it takes to ban abortion. Our Supreme Court is now home to two sexual predators. They may be the deciding votes in favor of a law that will kill women.