Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) on Sunday called a six-week abortion ban now poised to go into effect in her state in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade “horrendous,” arguing that it makes it “very dangerous” for women.
“We know that in Georgia, law has already been proposed that would expand the restrictions in the state,” Abrams told CNN “State of the Union” co-anchor Jake Tapper.
“We know that Brian Kemp has already signaled his, at least an ambiguity, about how he feels about birth control and the laws that govern birth control access,” she continued, referring to the state’s Republican governor. “And so it is very, very dangerous for women in Georgia right now.”
Kemp signed a law in 2019 that would ban abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, generally at the six-week point in a pregnancy. The law was held up in the courts as the Supreme Court considered Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which it decided on Friday, overturning Roe. Without a constitutional protection to abortion, the law is now likely to soon go into effect.
Abrams on Sunday said she would work to reverse the state’s abortion ban if she defeats Kemp in November.
When asked if businesses should pull their operations from Georgia if the abortion ban goes into effect, Abrams said they “should be accommodating.”
“I would tell anyone, whether you are a business or a citizen thinking about being in Georgia, to take into very real consideration the danger that Brian Kemp poses to the life and welfare of women in the state,” she said.
Abrams also called for legislative protections at the federal level, saying she supports lifting the filibuster, the 60-vote threshold required for most legislation in the Senate, to pass abortion protections.
She also left the door open to expanding the Supreme Court but called the issue a “long-term question.”
“We have to recognize there’s nothing sacrosanct about nine members on the United States Supreme Court,” she said.