WASHINGTON — As the crowd outside the U.S. Supreme Court grew Friday morning, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams decided to walk over from the Capitol and briefly join protesters lamenting the ruling that overturned protections for the right to receive an abortion.
“The activists that have assembled at the Supreme Court needed to see that they’re not alone in this fight,” the Atlanta Democrat said. “We have not given up, and we’re not going to go away quietly.”
Democrats like Williams were unhappy with the decision while also saying it would energize their party and its voters going into the midterm election. Republicans applauded the ruling and backed state laws limiting access to abortions.
“As a result of this decision, voters will now have the ability to decide whether to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent children in their states, or to allow for abortion, and to what degree,” U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, said in a statement. “While many see this as a massive move forward for the pro-life movement, it doesn’t actually outlaw abortions, it simply shifts the issue to where it belongs, as a state-by-state issue.”
The Supreme Court in Friday’s ruling overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, ending constitutional protections for abortion. The case, known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization of Mississippi, was decided by the court’s conservative majority and was expected to lead to bans on abortion or severe limitations in half of the states.
Georgia’s abortion law that bans the procedures after a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, typically around six weeks of pregnancy, is likely to become law as a result of the decisions.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, a Democrat from Suwanee, made a dire prediction after the ruling.
“After decades of attacks, abortion rights in the United States have been toppled and women will die because of this decision,” she said.
On the other side of the aisle, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter used the banner “life wins” to describe the ruling.
“Millions of children have been silent victims of a decades-long siege on their right to life,” the Pooler Republican said. “The heartbeats heard in ultrasound appointments have now been heard by the Supreme Court, and we finally have a nation that honors the humanity of unborn children.”
Georgia members of Congress react to the abortion ruling
U.S. Sen. John Ossoff (D): “Under Georgia’s HB481, the Court’s decision means Georgia women and medical providers could face prosecution for ending a pregnancy as early as six weeks after conception – before many women even know they are pregnant. This decision also creates risk of investigation and prosecution for women who miscarry and will force some women seeking access to abortion toward unsafe, unqualified alternatives that put their lives at risk.”
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D): “The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ends a core protection for women to make their own health care decisions, and is a departure from our American ideals to recognize and protect basic rights. This misguided decision is devastating for women and families in Georgia and nationwide.”
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta: “I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision. In the decades since Roe v. Wade, more than 62 million innocent lives have been lost to abortion. This ruling comes amidst an unprecedented campaign of intimidation targeting the Justices of the Court, who have shown tremendous resolve in the face of violent threats. I remain committed to upholding the sanctity of life during my tenure in Congress.”
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany: ““These personal healthcare choices should ultimately rest with a woman, her God and her doctor—not with politicians in 50 different state legislatures that may likely encourage Americans to spy on their neighbors’ for a bounty; stalk women, their friends and supporters; criminalize doctors and otherwise limit access to healthcare. While I believe abortion should be rare, it should be legal, safe, and an available choice in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life or health of a woman.”
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Suwanee: “Today is a sad day for all Americans. After decades of attacks, abortion rights in the United States have been toppled and women will die because of this decision.”
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler: “Millions of children have been silent victims of a decades-long siege on their right to life. The heartbeats heard in ultrasound appointments have now been heard by the Supreme Court, and we finally have a nation that honors the humanity of unborn children.”
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens: “Today’s decision marks a major victory in the fight to protect the first and most fundamental unalienable right — the right to life. I look forward to pro-life states, including my home state of Georgia, valuing life at all stages and enacting legislation to defend the unborn.”
U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-West Point: “The Dobbs ruling appropriately recognizes the Constitution does not confer the right to abortion, and gives individual states the ability to regulate the practice. The Supreme Court is correct in this ruling based on the Constitution and has exercised sound legal rationale.”
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome: “Our prayers were answers at the Supreme Court today! Roe is overturned and we are one step closer to ending the mass genocide of abortion in America.”
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Greensboro: “This is a great day for life and a great day for America. But this is also the beginning of a great battle that now turns to the states. We all recognize that the value of life is important. This is one of the most important battles we can engage in. And we must remember that there are two lives involved. There’s the life of the mother, and there’s the life of the baby.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia: “This is the most damnable Supreme Court decision in my lifetime. For the first time in our nation’s history, the Supreme Court has snatched away a fundamental civil right. For half a century, the reproductive right has been a hallmark of gender equality in our nation. Women have now had that right ripped away by a callous and extreme, draconian Supreme Court. What civil right is next?”
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville: “As a result of this decision, voters will now have the ability to decide whether to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent children in their states, or to allow for abortion, and to what degree. While many see this as a massive move forward for the pro-life movement, it doesn’t actually outlaw abortions, it simply shifts the issue to where it belongs, as a state-by-state issue.”
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta: “Today, every woman in America has been made less free. Today, extremists on the Supreme Court have stripped away a woman’s right to make choices about her own reproductive health care. Today, our nation’s highest court has rolled back the clock and stripped women of their liberty.”
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton: “There is no disputing that life begins at conception, and today the Supreme Court protected the sanctity of life for future generations by overturning Roe v. Wade.”
U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta: “I join my Democratic congressional colleagues in anger, grief, and horror. As a husband, a father, and a grandfather, I hope and pray for a future where women’s access to education, employment, healthcare, and privacy are not curtailed by extremist policies set by an unelected few. Now, we must move to immediately codify a federal right to abortion.”
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta: “I am not just motivated to vote but motivated to make sure that women get the care that they need. If that means that we are getting people together to get them to states where they have access to abortion, I’m motivated to do that. I’m motivated to continue to march so that people who don’t yet understand the impact of this decision today, fully understand what it means not just for their lives, but the people that they love.”
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