Georgia Equal Protection Bill Fails to Advance by Key Deadline
In spite of receiving record support from almost 25% of the Georgia House Republican conference, HB 441, the Georgia Prenatal Equal Protection Act stalled in committee this week after it missed the March 6 deadline of “Crossover Day,” the day by which all house bills must be voted off the floor to get to the Senate.
Despite the fact that HB 441 failed to advance to the floor, equal protection made significant strides in Georgia this legislative session. State Representative Emory Dunahoo, the author of HB 441, worked hard to rally support behind the bill, garnering 21 co-sponsors for the bill, the highest number of co-sponsors an equal protection bill has ever received.
On March 3, hundreds of Christians gathered outside of the capitol to demand that HB 441 receive a hearing and a vote.
It is unclear who is actually responsible for blocking HB 441 from receiving a committee hearing, but the Speaker of the House in Georgia, Jon Burns, enjoys broad discretion to decide which bills are ultimately heard. While some bills can be heard after Crossover Day, they cannot advance this session.
As a result of the decisions made by establishment Republicans, equal protection will not become law in Georgia this year, and the lives of over 50,000 babies in Georgia will remain unprotected from abortion.
