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The “Heartbeat” Ban Will Hurt Women
Miscarriage laws can have devastating effects
Georgia recently passed the “Heartbeat Bill.” The law essentially bans abortion, as women often don’t know they’re pregnant before the 6 week cutoff.
Not only that, but there is a provision that allows law enforcement to investigate miscarriages, and potentially charge women with murder if they have one.
Let’s back up one second here. It’s estimated that up to 50% of all pregnancies will end in miscarriage, often due to genetic problems. Most miscarriages happen very early, before women even knew they were pregnant. There’s no way for a women to control or prevent this.
Criminalizing miscarriage could result in women not seeking prenatal care until the biggest miscarriage window has passed. You might see women present at doctor’s offices only when they begin showing, potentially missing important scans, vaccines, vitamins, and tests — such as for infections or gestational diabetes.
This is troubling, because infections can cause miscarriage. Standard prenatal care involves screening for certain infections and treating them with antibiotics.
Women might not even show up until their complications become life-threatening, and by then it could be too late to save them or the fetus. You…
