Middle Georgia organizations react to abortion ban overturn

A court ruling that overturns Georgia's ban on abortion around six weeks has been met with mixed emotions in middle Georgia.

MACON, Georgia(41NBC/WMGT) — A court ruling that overturns Georgia’s ban on abortion around six weeks has been met with mixed emotions in middle Georgia.

We spoke with two organizations about their thoughts on the decision and how they hope to impact future decisions.

“I don’t foresee this overturning lasting, frankly, but for us, we’re not going to quit doing what we do every day,” Ann Beall said.

Beall is the Director of the Kolbe Center in Macon. The center says it focuses on helping expecting mothers with pregnancy checks, ultrasounds and deciding to choose life.

Beall says the reversing of the statewide ban set in place by the Heart Beat Bill is not what she hope for, but as a center that is against abortion, there is still much more that needs to be done.

“The abortion piece is important, certainly, we would like to see that gone, but making sure that as a society we see this as a person is also incredibly important,” she said.

According to Beall, the center has helped more than 600 mothers in the last month–a number that continues to grow.

The non-partisan organization known as “Georgia Women and Those Who Stand With Us” says the decision means freedom.

“In having our rights taken away from us, we are relegated to second class citizenship in this country, and that’s not what we want,” Lynn Snyder said. “We want to be full citizens, just like everybody else, just like men.”

Snyder is the co-president of the organization. As a retired nurse, she says she knows making sure abortions are safe is the best option.

“I know what desperate women will do, and we don’t want to go back, we want to go forward,” she said.

The organization says its goal is to fight for women’s healthcare by calling and visiting with legislators.

It’s now up to the General Assembly to determine if the ban will stay in place.