Healthcare and related services become sparser for low income women and their families every year. And yet the Georgia Legislature appears to want to continue to regulate abortion, a very common and safe procedure. Further, a vocal minority aims to outlaw abortion entirely despite the evidence that in countries where abortion is illegal, the rates remain quite high.

And, consider this:

· Compared to pro-choice states, anti-abortion states spend far less money per child on a range of services such as foster care, education, welfare, and the adoption of children who have physical and mental disabilities (Schroedel, 2000).

· The states that have the strongest antiabortion laws are also the states in which women suffer from lower levels of education and higher levels of poverty, as well as from a lower ratio of female-to-male earnings. They also have a lower percentage of women in the legislature and fewer mandates requiring insurance providers to cover minimum hospital stays after childbirth (Schroedel, 2000).

If we really cared about families, we would do better – much better!