Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law Tuesday the state鈥檚 latest abortion restriction. Political reaction to the measure, which prohibits the procedure once a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat 鈥 usually at about the six-week mark 鈥 was swift.
Abortion opponents applauded the measure, which puts Georgia Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota and Iowa. (Courts have blocked the and laws.) Reproductive rights activists are widely expected to challenge the Georgia law, which many legal experts say violates the abortion standard set by the Supreme Court in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, was among the critics who weighed in.
鈥淭he so-called 鈥榟eartbeat鈥 law outlaws abortion before most women even know that they’re pregnant,鈥 Swalwell . 鈥淭his is one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in our country.鈥
Swalwell鈥檚 claim is an argument we鈥檝e heard often about the six-week abortion ban. We emailed his press team, who redirected us to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, describing the law鈥檚 passage. But we wanted to dig deeper.
鈥楳ost Women鈥?
Swalwell鈥檚 claim has two components: First, he said the law bans abortion 鈥渂efore most women even know that they鈥檙e pregnant.鈥
This is a tricky one. We contacted four reproductive-law experts, along with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We also looked at information from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and policy organization that supports abortion rights but whose research is widely cited.
None of those sources could point us to data showing when 鈥渕ost women鈥 know they鈥檙e pregnant.
Maggie McEvoy, an ACOG spokeswoman, said the organization doesn鈥檛 track that information, and it isn鈥檛 clear anyone does.
And about Swalwell鈥檚 statement:
鈥淚s it empirically true? I don鈥檛 know that the medical literature supports that,鈥 said Katherine Kraschel, who runs the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)
But even without that data, experts said, it is abundantly clear that women who are not trying to conceive are much less likely to be aware of a pregnancy until well after six weeks.
That鈥檚 because 鈥渟ix weeks鈥 really means 鈥渟ix weeks after a woman鈥檚 last menstrual cycle.鈥 Typically, a cycle is about 28 days, or four weeks, long. But many women are accustomed to having irregular periods, and delays can be exacerbated by everyday factors such as stress and fatigue, which could stretch a cycle to 30 or 40 days. At this point, though a woman may not yet be aware that she is pregnant or be experiencing any symptoms, a physician may be able to discern a fetal heartbeat.
Most women don鈥檛 realize they鈥檙e pregnant until missing at least one period, said Dr. Kristyn Brandi, an OB-GYN at Rutgers Medical School. Often, it takes two.
Generally, medical experts say, women who are actively trying to conceive tend to track their cycles very closely and know much sooner if they are pregnant. But for women whose pregnancies are unintended, and who may be more likely to contemplate an abortion, Swalwell鈥檚 statement is more accurate.
About two-thirds of women seeking abortions usually come in since their last menstrual period, per the most recent Guttmacher statistics.
In other words, the six-week restriction would cut off access to abortion at a point in the pregnancy when 鈥渢here鈥檚 a high level of women who might not know,鈥 Kraschel said.
鈥極ne Of The Most Restrictive鈥
The second half of Swalwell鈥檚 claim is easier to verify.
He said this is 鈥渙ne of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws鈥 in the country, a characterization experts say is certainly accurate. The phrase 鈥渙ne of鈥 is a crucial distinction. The Georgia ban is no more stringent than those approved in the five other states that have passed heartbeat laws.
In Alabama, lawmakers are considering a bill that would effectively criminalize all abortions 鈥 treating physicians who perform the procedures as felons. If it were to become law, Alabama鈥檚 would be the most stringent in the nation. But voting in the state Senate on that after a debate erupted over whether to include an exemption for rape or incest.
Legal experts also suspect that, as conservatives pursue new abortion legislation, heartbeat restrictions are among the likeliest to end up in front of the Supreme Court. Conservatives believe the judicial makeup favors a ruling that could overturn or scale back the abortion protections outlined in Roe v. Wade.
Our Ruling
Swalwell runs into data obstacles with the first half of his claim. He says a six-week ban prohibits abortion before 鈥渕ost women鈥 know that they are pregnant, but there isn鈥檛 any research that conclusively says that鈥檚 correct.
Some clarification would help him here.
Most women who aren鈥檛 trying to conceive are less likely to know this early that they are pregnant. They probably aren鈥檛 taking pregnancy tests or closely monitoring their periods. And women seeking abortions are generally coming in after six weeks.
To be fair to Swalwell, his broader point here is true: The women more likely to seek abortions are, six weeks from their last period, less likely to realize they are pregnant.
The second half of this claim is unequivocally correct. Georgia鈥檚 law is indeed among the nation鈥檚 strictest.
This claim is correct but could use more context and clarification. We rate it Mostly True.
