Roe v. Wade overturned: Protestors occupy state buildings in Atlanta
ATLANTA - At least two groups of activists who support abortion access plan to camp out Monday night in Downtown Atlanta.
The sounds of chants and car horns echoed around the area of the capitol on the July 4 holiday.
"All of us deserve our independence and that includes from the government what to do with our bodies," said an activist named Mia who declined to give her last name for safety reasons.
One group is set up on the steps of the capitol building, while the other plans to sleep outside the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. Both groups have criticized Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr for asking a federal appeals court to reconsider the state’s 2019 bill that banned abortions after six weeks.
"We definitely do not want the six-week ban to be implemented, not make it through the courts," Mia said. "We believe that it is a serious infringement on the rights of people with uteruses everywhere."
On the other side of the issue, across the country some in favor of an abortion ban have said that their priority is the life of the fetus.
"Every abortion ends in a death and that is more significant to me than the possibility of someone dying in childbirth," said James Wallace, who attended a rally in support of the ban right after the Supreme Court decision in Indiana. "A lot of us have prayed and hoped for years and years and generations before prayed and hoped for."
Mia, who is 8 months pregnant with what she expects to be a girl, says she has a unique role in their fight.
"She deserves these rights too," she said. "The fact that she was conceived with less rights than she will be born with is terrifying."
STATE BY STATE: WHERE ABORTION WILL BE ILLEGAL AFTER THE SUPREME COURT RULING
Some activists called on President Joe Biden to sign an executive order mandating that abortion stay legal in all fifty states.
HOW SUPREME COURT RULING IMPACTS GEORGIA
Abortion is legal in Georgia while the law passed in 2019 is tied up in appeal courts. Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act is colloquially known as the "heartbeat bill." The law has remained blocked by lower courts since it was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
Two groups of protestors in favor of the right to abortion are occupying areas outside state buildings on July 4 in Downtown Atlanta, calling on Attorney General Chris Carr to stop courts from implementing Georgia's abortion restriction.
Carr, a Republican, issued a statement saying his office filed a notice with the 11th Circuit "requesting it reverse the District Court’s decision and allow Georgia’s Heartbeat Law to take effect."