Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams made an unscientific remark on the topic of abortion during a recent campaign stop.
“There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks. It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body,” Abrams said.
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams: "There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks. It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman's body."
REMINDER: Abrams supports NO LIMITS on abortion. pic.twitter.com/f7XxeqzfF6
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 22, 2022
But the scientific consensus says otherwise.
“Before about week 8 of pregnancy, a doctor may refer to the fetus as an embryo,” says Medical News Today. “The heart of an embryo starts to beat from around 5-6 weeks of pregnancy. Also, it may be possible to see the first visible sign of the embryo, known as the fetal pole, at this stage.”
Other sources agree.
The battle over when a heart begins beating is particularly important to pro-abortion Democrats, who argue that abortion is not murder despite the fact that, often, abortions are conducted after six weeks of pregnancy.
There is no evidence that, as Abrams claimed, a heartbeat is “manufactured” at six weeks.
Abrams has made other debunked claims about abortion on the campaign trail.
“There is no example of a woman – you’ve gone through the trouble of buying a crib and naming that child – there is no one who wakes up and says at eight months, never mind,” Abrams said on ABC’s The View last week.
She continued:
It is usually a traumatic experience, a difficult, if not heart-wrenching, decision, and to minimize it by allowing politicians to tell you what you are doing and what you are feeling when the doctor that delivers this news to you should be the arbiter, along with the woman who has to make that choice.
Abrams, who is challenging incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R), to whom she lost a 2018 gubernatorial bid, trails Kemp by a significant margin, according to a combination of polls assessed by FiveThirtyEight.
Currently, Kemp holds a 5.1 percent lead over the foe whom he previously defeated.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Stacey Abrams” by RNC Research.
