Georgia state Rep. Emory Dunahoo (R) introduced legislation in February that would define life as beginning at conception and classify the act of abortion as homicide. House Bill 441, the Prenatal Equal Protection Act, is popular among state Republicans, having secured over 20 co-sponsors in the state legislature. It has also managed to enrage the usual suspects — those alternatively keen on stripping unborn babies of legal protections.

The pro-abortion advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All, for instance, condemned HB 441, calling it "an extreme and politically motivated measure that would criminalize abortion at all stages of pregnancy by establishing legal personhood at fertilization."

Reproductive Freedom for All and similar radical organizations have found an unlikely ally in Georgia Life Alliance, an advocacy group that claims on its website to be "leading the fight for life in elections, policy, and education statewide."

Georgia Life Alliance recently raised eyebrows with a publicized March 19 letter to the state House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee asking that it refrain from holding its hearing on HB 411 or at least kill it in committee.

The pro-life group's executive director, Claire Bartlett, and its board chair, Bryan Tyson, noted in their letter that while the legislation "appears well-intentioned and partially aligns with Georgia Life Alliance Committee's mission," they "hold grave concerns with the impact, consequences, and outcomes of the bill which conflicts with our organizational mission."

'This is totally false.'

The duo suggested that women seeking to eliminate their babies "require compassionate support, not punitive measures"; criminalizing women "could deter them from seeking necessary medical care and support"; penalties for killing babies in the womb might lead to "unregulated abortions" or dissuade women from seeking medical or mental health care after the fact; and the recognition of the unborn child's personhood in criminal law "would add immeasurable stress to Georgia's already-existing mental health crisis."

While HB 441 clarifies that mothers who get abortions under coercion — where they reasonably believe that the execution of their child is the only way to prevent their own death or great bodily injury — would not be held guilty, Bartlett and Tyson suggested that coercion "extends to intense psychological abuse such as gaslighting, overt devaluation, control, manipulation, and oppression."

"HB 441 changes long-standing Georgia protections for women and does not address or hold accountable the abortionist, the pimp, the sex trafficker, and the irresponsible man who will face no consequence and continue to prey on women and girls for their own selfish gain," wrote Bartlett and Tyson.

Bradley Pierce, president of the Foundation to Abolish Abortion — a national pro-life nonprofit that has championed the legislation from the start — stated that "House Bill 441, the bill that Georgia Life Alliance is opposing in Georgia, would simply protect the lives of innocent preborn children with the same homicide and assault laws that protect the rest of us as born people. This is what God commands and the U.S. Constitution requires."

"[Georgia Life Alliance] claims that House Bill 441 criminalizes only women and exempts abortionists, pimps, and sex traffickers. This is totally false," continued Pierce, whose organization drew significant attention to the letter this week. "The truth is that current pro-life laws in Georgia protect a woman's 'right' to knowingly and willingly murder her preborn child by abortion. House Bill 441, on the other hand, is the only bill that is impartial and would treat everyone equally under the law."

In addition to recognizing the personhood of the unborn and applying the same penalties to the slaying of unborn babies to those on the books for killing a born person, the bill would enable the Georgia attorney general to prosecute baby slayings if local prosecutors fail to and enable parents to pursue legal action for the death of their unborn children.

Pierce added, "It was sad, but it is not a surprise to see a well-established Pro-Life lobby group oppose equal protection of the laws for preborn children in Georgia. We have seen this happen repeatedly across the country."

'Tens of thousands of babies, made in the image of God, continue to be murdered in our state every year.'

Ben Zeisloft, head of communications at the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, similarly blasted Georgia Life Alliance over its characterization of the bill, suggesting with a meme that the pro-life organization might be captive to feminism, secularism, and humanism.

Blaze News reached out to Georgia Life Alliance for comment but did not receive a response by deadline.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported that the state House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee hearing, which Georgia Life Alliance tried to torpedo, ultimately took place, but the bill did not clear the state House before day 30 of the legislative session. The bill is, however, not dead. It will remain active for reconsideration through the next legislative session.

Republican state Rep. Dunahoo said during the hearing, "Tens of thousands of babies, made in the image of God, continue to be murdered in our state every year, all within the bounds of the current law. That must be changed," reported the Georgia Recorder.

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