It's not often that the fact-checkers side with Republicans and their causes; often they're the targets of the fact-checkers. So when they happen to get it right, it is a pretty big deal. This occurred last Friday, when PolitiFact rightfully declared a claim from Stacey Abrams "False" when it comes to how Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) "wants to investigate and punish women for having miscarriages."
The fact-check points to ads from Facebook and Instagram as well as two television ads in which Abrams makes the false claim. Also cited is Mary Ziegler, a law professor at University of California, Davis, who is cited as "an abortion law expert," though it turns out she's not such an expert at all. Emphasis is mine:
The six-week abortion law Kemp signed, which took effect July 20 but is being challenged in court, says miscarriage is legal.
Georgia’s law does not explicitly say women can’t be prosecuted. So, some legal experts say the law gives police discretion on investigating whether a woman had a miscarriage or an illegal abortion.
"There are other states where it really clearly says you cannot punish the person who had the abortion, period, and Georgia’s law is not clear in that way," said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at University of California, Davis and an abortion law expert.
Therefore, women in Georgia could be investigated over a miscarriage, she said.
...
The video alludes to Georgia’s "heartbeat" law, which bans most abortions once a "detectable human heartbeat" exists at about six weeks of pregnancy. The law defines a miscarriage as a "spontaneous abortion" and says that removing "a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion" is legal.
When Kemp signed the law in May 2019, we examined claims that women would be prosecuted. We found that the law neither spells out what happens to a woman who has an illegal abortion, nor directly says miscarriages can be investigated.
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Making it even more damning for Abrams is that she was not very good at backing up her claims, not surprising, given that they're false. "The Abrams campaign did not cite any instances of Kemp saying he wanted women to be investigated for miscarriages," the fact-checker mentioned.
Propagating a fear-mongering lie has been a habit of pro-abortion Democrats, including in Georgia. During a hearing last month, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) used her time at the House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Whats Next: The Threat to Individual Freedoms in a Post-Roe World," to falsely warn that women would not be able to treat miscarriages due to pro-life laws.
Further, the pro-life movement has long believed that women are often the second victims of abortion, which is why it is the abortion provider who is targeted specifically for prosecution when these laws are written, and why pro-life organizations are against prosecuting women.
The race this November, which is a rematch between Kemp and Abrams from 2018, was once regarded as a "Toss-Up," but has since titled in Kemp's favor. Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both regard the race as "Lean Republican," while Inside Republicans says it's "Tilt Republican."
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