According to a new report from Jezebel, leaked audio from a campaign rally last week captured the moment Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp “said he’d be open to a statewide ban on destroying embryos created for in-vitro fertilization (IVF).”
This is the second time in two months that Kemp has been caught on a hot mic advocating for further restrictions on women’s reproductive health care. Back in September, he “expressed his openness to ban contraception” during the next legislative session.
Kemp is already responsible for signing one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, and thanks to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, he and Georgia Republicans can now roll back long-settled constitutional rights and liberties.
Jezebel: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Said He’s Open to Restricting IVF in Leaked Audio
By: Susan Rinkunas | October 17, 2022
Key Points:
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“At a campaign stop in Blakely, Georgia, the man who signed the state’s active six-week abortion ban said he’d be open a statewide ban on destroying embryos created for in-vitro fertilization (IVF).”
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“That makes Kemp the second Republican in recent days, after New Hampshire Senate nominee Don Bolduc, to suggest they’d move to limit IVF. Bolduc called embryo destruction ‘a disgusting practice’ that we need to do something about.”
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“In a one-minute audio clip provided to the AJC, a man who claimed to be a Kemp supporter asked the governor whether he would support a ‘statewide ban on the destruction of embryos.’”
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“Another person, possibly a Kemp staffer, said ‘this is just now starting to become a conversation’ and that the legislature might consider it as part of a bill the future.”
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“Kemp jumped in to say it seemed somewhat unlikely, ‘We barely got the heartbeat bill passed, one vote.’ Then the supporter asks Kemp if he likes the idea of protecting IVF embryos, to which he responds emphatically, ‘Yeah.’”
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“The likely Kemp flackey says of the governor, ‘This man’s proven his pro-life credentials,’ and tells the supporter, ‘Yeah, we’ll talk about that [proposal].’”
Read the full report here.
Published: Oct 17, 2022