Politics

Stacey Abrams Says ‘There Is No Such Thing As A Heartbeat At Six Weeks’

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Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said “there is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks” during an event Tuesday at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center in Georgia.

Abrams, discussing issues pressing the state of Georgia, said the state needs to repeal the so-called Fetal Heartbeat Bill, which bans abortion when a heartbeat is detected. Abrams said the legislation, formally known as HB 481, shouldn’t be referred to as the “Fetal Heartbeat Bill” because “that’s medically false, biologically a lie.”

“There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks. It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body,” Abrams said, adding that she thinks six weeks is too soon for most women to know they are pregnant.

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the fetal heartbeat bill into law in 2019, which outlaws abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. A fetal heartbeat can typically be detected between 6-7 weeks, according to the American Pregnancy Association. (RELATED: Alyssa Milano Pushes Back Against Georgia’s Heartbeat Bill)

Critics of the legislation argued many women do not know they are pregnant by that stage of pregnancy.

Abrams herself argued against the legislation in 2019 as well, speaking about the economic impact it would have after Hollywood said it would boycott the state over the abortion ban.

“I want to protect women in Georgia, and having built relationships not only with the film industry, but with other industries that are here in Georgia,” Abrams said. “The state has 92,000 employees in the film industry – $9.5 billion in economic impact – but, unfortunately, we have a governor whose not only refused to go to Hollywood; he’s actually refusing to respond to requests from 15 of the largest companies in Georgia involved in the film industry to meet with them.”