SisterSong OPPOSES HB 1155

SisterSong is a national organization of Indigenous women and women of color and allied organizations and individuals working for Reproductive Justice. Our core principles are threefold: We believe that every woman has the human right to choose if and when she will have a baby and the conditions under which she will give birth; the human right to decide if she will not have a baby and her options for preventing or ending a pregnancy; and, the human right to parent the children she already has with the necessary social supports to do so. By utilizing a framework based on human rights, we approach reproductive health through a social justice lens. This means that the ability of any woman to determine her own reproductive destiny is directly linked to the conditions in her community and these conditions are not just a matter of individual choice and access.

I urge this committee to vote NO on HB 1155. The false assumption that abortion providers throughout the state “solicit” women of color is unfounded and inflammatory. We recognize that the lived experiences of women of color, and black women specifically, drive how and when women choose abortion, not abortion providers who defend women’s rights. In order to protect the lives of women and families, abortion must remain safe, legal, affordable, and accessible.

We are acutely aware of the reality that African American women make up a significant number of abortions in the state of Georgia, but these numbers should be looked at in context. First, the high rates of abortions in Georgia reflect the reality of the lack of human rights protections that exist for black women in Georgia. The lack of access to social services, lack of contraception, sexual violence within the community, lack of comprehensive sex education, and lack of pregnancy prevention programs increasingly impact reproductive health outcomes for women of color in general, and black women in particular. Second, Georgia’s high abortion rate is a reflection of limited abortion services in the Southern Region. As access to abortion is rolled back in neighboring states like Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama with large African American populations, Georgia by comparison has more accessibility to such services. According to the Guttmacher Institute, Georgia’s abortion data is made up of BOTH Georgia residents and women from other states, so the abortions rate is not a true reflection of our residents. And while Atlanta offers the best abortion access in the Deep South, we still lag
behind other regions in guaranteeing abortion access for women. Third, African Americans make up 27% of people living in poverty and 34% of the uninsured in Georgia. The real focus of all Georgians should be to transform the conditions of our society that impede Black women’s access to quality and safe healthcare; the ability to raise children in a safe and healthy environment and to have our birthing experiences be positive and safe. This legislation will further exacerbate problems within communities of color that require a comprehensive approach, while racially discriminating against black women to do so.

HB 1155 will virtually make all abortions obtained by women of color, particularly black women, subject to criminal investigation, which will further impact women of color who already have limited access to health care and reproductive health services. Doctors will have an additional burden, beyond the current law, of proving they are not attempting to “solicit”, which will delay medical services for women of color and impoverished women. Furthermore, Black women who choose abortion are not upholding genocide but are seeking autonomy to have the right to better conditions under which we birth and raise our children. Such conditions include: better wages, better healthcare and the fundamental human rights to housing, food security and physical safety that lift us out of poverty and a racist society that deems us as less than human and fit only for labor.

HB1155 also prohibits sex-selection abortions. While sex and gender discrimination are widespread societal problems, the women of Georgia would be greatly harmed by such a ban. This ban will make it more difficult for women to obtain reproductive health services by forcing providers to change or limit their provision of care and to question each patient about the reason she seeks an abortion. In addition, all of these bans could result in increased questioning of all women seeking legal abortion services -- and the barrier to access could cause them to seek illegal and unsafe abortions elsewhere. Even proposals that do not mention race selection provide opportunity for increased discrimination against women of color; for example, Asian and Asian-American women could be assumed to be more likely to seek sex selective or race selective abortions and could face intrusive questions about their motives. Sex selection is a symptom of deeply rooted social norms, biased stereotypes and inequality. Prohibiting sex selective abortions is a thinly disguised anti-choice strategy to make restricting abortion access seem more sympathetic. It does nothing to address the root causes of this issue, gender inequality, discrimination, and stereotyping.

In our communities’ struggle for reproductive justice, Indigenous women and women of color have a unique history that we must remember in order to ensure bodily sovereignty, dignity, and collective uplift of our community. The choices that Indigenous women and women of color make are based on their lived experiences in this country and reflect multiple oppressions, including race, class, and gender, and our efforts to resist them. It is unacceptable to speak to the reproductive needs of any woman, or her children without taking into consideration the realities that exist in her home and local community. Thank you.


Heidi Williamson
National Advocacy Coordinator
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
heidi@sistersong.net