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Georgia anti-abortion bigot's "grotesque" bill

By Nicole Colson | January 3, 2003 | Page 2

EVEN HIS fellow anti-choice bigots think Bobby Franklin has gone a bit far. The Georgia lawmaker has submitted a bill to the state House of Representatives that would require any woman seeking an abortion to go through a trial and have a judge issue a death warrant for an "execution."

"This is probably the most grotesque bill we've seen," said Georgia Abortion and Reproduction Rights Action League spokeswoman Ebony Barley. "This would increase the risk to women--they would seek to get an abortion illegally."

Franklin's legislation is so outrageous that even some anti-choice groups are steering clear of it. Instead, they favor another proposal that would subject any woman seeking an abortion to a 24-hour waiting period and would present her with the so-called risks associated with the abortion procedure--including "possible detrimental psychological effects."

The proposal would make it harder for poor and working-class women to obtain an abortion. And the legislation even includes a provision to allow a "father" or "grandparent" to sue any physician that provided an abortion without the mandatory waiting period.

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