Image via Zuma Press

By Erinn Gardner, Secretary

Fulton county Judge Robert McBurney issued an order on Monday to strike down Georgia’s abortion law (HB 481), which prohibits the procedure after six weeks. Georgia residents can now obtain an abortion up to 22 weeks into their pregnancy.

This development has provided several Spelman students a sense of comfort; some seeing this decision as a step closer toward attaining the reproductive freedoms they have been seeking for years. 

“We’re seeing progress and that’s all we ever really want to see, especially in Georgia,” senior Lydia Castillo said.  “As a resident here, this is great news. Obviously we still have a lot of work to do, but it’s a step closer to other swing states like Georgia striking down abortion bills like this.” 

Advocacy has been reflected through Spelman Planned Parenthood President Olivia Payton’s efforts to educate the student body, while lobbying to get the HB 481 bill dismissed in Georgia. She emphasized on the right to options. 

A majority of women do not realize that they are pregnant within six weeks. If they are aware,  they are forced to expeditiously make a decision that will physically, financially and spiritually alter their lives forever. 

“We’re definitely not done fighting, but we are at the point where we can at least give women a month to digest a life-changing decision like this,” Payton said. 

When Roe v. Wade was initially overturned in 2022, many felt as though society had been set back 50 years because advancements in reproductive rights and bodily autonomy were essentially being reversed. 

“When Roe v. Wade got overturned in the first place, I was shocked,” Payton said. “I never thought America was going to go so far back as to revoke a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. It was a moment of fear and confusion for me. You don’t know the trauma she’s been through or how she even got in this situation at all.” 

Some Spelman students also spoke on their criticism of the foster case system in America. Viewing aspects of the system as corrupt, they felt as though proponents of bills like HB 481 are not pro-life, but anti-abortion. 

“Many conservatives who are anti-abortion aren’t providing alternatives such as child care, maternity or paternity leave, or maternal health care,” sophomore social justice fellow Lauren Broussard said. “They are just allowing these children to be thrown into this correct foster case system, which ultimately does more harm than good.” 

Although several states are far from this, these newfound reproductive freedoms that Georgia is allowing women is a step closer to broader national conversations about women’s rights. 

“During the Vice-Presidential debate, Governor Tim Walz said that democrats are not pro-abortion, but rather ‘pro-woman,’” Castillo said. “We’ll finally respect women regarding the choices that they want to make with their own bodies.”

Copy Edited by Editor-in-Chief, Colin Royal