This year’s attempt by pro-life members of the state legislature to pass restrictions on abortions is centered in the House of Representatives. A bill that would ban almost all abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected in a woman passed the House Judiciary Committee this week on a mostly party line vote. Experts say a fetal heartbeat can typically be detected around the sixth week of pregnancy.
Similar laws have been enacted by other states as abortion foes hope to get a case before the US Supreme Court to challenge the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling. Georgia passed such a law last week. Democrats on the Republican controlled Judiciary Committee questioned supporters about why the state might ultimately have to spend money to defend a law similar to ones that federal courts have ruled un-constitutional.
