Heartbeat Law Disappointingly Ineffective Says Sidewalk Counselors

Since Georgia’s Heartbeat law went into effect on July 20th, pro-life Georgians have been surprised and disappointed by the data shared by sidewalk counselors. The observations they share from their numerous hours outside abortion facilities indicate the law is not very effective at saving babies lives despite all the pro-life celebration and the hysteria from pro-abortion activists.

Full-time sidewalk counselors (also called pro-life missionaries) who peacefully pray and evangelize outside abortion facilities have shared some disturbing reports of high abortion numbers and contrasted pre-heartbeat law averages with the averages seen today.

The Columbus Women’s Health abortuary has tripled their normal rate of abortions since the Dobbs ruling overturned the precedent started with Roe v. Wade.

Seneca Choices for Life, the local pro-life pregnancy center is strategically located beside the leading Columbus abortion facility. The pregnancy center maintains a constant presence outside the clinic, praying and pleading with women to change their mind and receive the free resources they provide.

“Just here in Columbus the abortions have tripled since before Roe,” said Amber Snipes, Director of Seneca Choices for Life.

“This is a reason we are suspicious of illegal activity because there’s been a significant spike in numbers once abortions became illegal after 6 weeks.”

Some speculate that the high volume of abortions in Columbus is due to its proximity to Alabama, a state with stronger legal protections for pre-born children compared to Georgia. Alabama law protects children from the moment of fertilization with the only exception for serious health risk to the pre-born child’s mother. It contains no exception for rape or incest, unlike Georgia’s Heartbeat law.

Data collected by Columbus sidewalk counselors reveals the mothers entering the abortion mill drove vehicles with a diverse array of state license plates hailing from Alabama, Louisiana and even Texas. These out-of-state licenses and the higher volume of elective abortions committed in border cities like Columbus indicates that Georgia is becoming an abortion destination state.

In Augusta the data shows abortion numbers are down, but not by much.

“The volume has been cut down from about 30 to [between] 12 to 20 per day. They aren’t following the law,” said Steven Smith, a pro-life missionary in Augusta.

“We are seeing more women being turned away since the Hearbeat bill, if I had to guess maybe a 25% reduction,” said Bobby McCreery, who ministers outside both the Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta as well as A Preferred Women’s Health Center in Forest Park.

The suspected illegal elective abortions under the new incremental pro-life law come as no surprise to some activists due to the law assigning the abortionist to be the sole determiner of whether the baby has a heartbeat, ignoring the abortionist’s obvious monetary interest in committing the abortion.

“This is the quintessential example of the fox guarding the hen house, except these are human lives we are talking about,” said Nathaniel Darnell NFRA Director for the Georgia Republican Assembly. “You can’t expect an abortionist to be objective about the baby’s heartbeat when he so clearly stands to financially profit from committing the abortion.”

On July 21st, Smith shared on Facebook, “All the killing center has to do is say that none of the babies have a heart beat. Which is exactly what they told Richmond County Sheriff Deputy today.”

Steven Smith called the Sheriff’s office on July 27th to report what he believed to be a violation of the new law in Augusta, and was told an officer would come to investigate, but no one came. 

Many have claimed that most women do not even know they are pregnant before six weeks and therefore predicted that Georgia’s LIFE Act also known as the ‘Heartbeat’ law would eliminate nearly all abortions instantly. This claim ignores the advancement of medical technology and the widespread availability of early detection pregnancy tests which enable women to determine they are pregnant as early as ten days after conception. It also ignores the broad exceptions in the Georgia law.

Jason Cantrell, an Atlanta abolitionist and full-time pro-life missionary said, “At the two mills I go to, there hasn’t really been a difference in volume of people coming. There have been more turn-aways though, and I’ve spoken to women who were turned away for being too far along.”

“The disappointing consequences of the compromises in Georgia’s ‘Heartbeat’ Law call for the necessity for a Personhood Amendment,” said Ricardo Davis, President of Georgia Right to Life.

“Every pre-born child deserves protection and equal justice. I am urging all Georgians to sign the petition to Governor Brian Kemp to convene a special legislative session to pass a Personhood Amendment to our State Constitution.”

A Personhood Amendment to the Georgia Constitution would explicitly define personhood as beginning at fertilization and would effectively abolish abortion immediately, because the fifth and fourteenth amendments state “no person shall be deprived of life… without due process of law.” It would also require ethical treatment of tiny human beings at an embryonic stage in laboratories and in in vitro fertilization clinics.