Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued perhaps his clearest commitment yet that he won’t pursue any new restrictions on abortion or birth control, using a Monday evening debate against Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams to clarify his position on an issue he’s sometimes avoided as he seeks a second term.
Kemp said in the debate’s opening moments that he “would not” go beyond the “heartbeat bill” he signed in 2019 to ban nearly all abortions at six weeks of pregnancy, a point that comes before many women know they’re pregnant. The law, which went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned a woman’s constitutional right to abortion services, includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest and health risks to pregnant women.
Abrams, who narrowly lost to Kemp four years ago, has criticized the Republican incumbent as an extremist on abortion, leaving him trapped between moderates who want more permissive abortion laws and activists in Kemp’s base who want the governor to move even further to outright bans on abortion or restrictions on Plan B, an over-the-counter contraceptive that can prevent pregnancy even after an egg is fertilized.
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