During a public appearance at the University of Georgia last week, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) expressed his openness to banning contraception depending on “where the legislatures are.”
“You could take up pretty much anything, but you got to be in the legislative session to do that,” Kemp said in comments provided by a Democratic source on the condition of anonymity. “I think I’d have to check and see because there are a lot of legalities.”
Kemp already signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country in 2019, which bans all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Cardiac activity can usually be detected in an embryo around six weeks of pregnancy when most women do not even know they are pregnant yet.
Since the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion in June and gave the power to regulate the procedure back to the states, Republican lawmakers have been accelerating their anti-abortion policy with talks of contraception bans.
Unless the right to contraception is codified into law by Congress ― something that will not happen if the Republican party is in control ― it can be overturned by the Supreme Court, similar to federal abortion rights. The Court will likely go in this direction if the Republican majority stays in place. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas already expressed his eagerness to revisit previous decisions on gay marriage and sexual freedom in addition to the right to contraception.
