Emma Bellantoni, Campus Carrier staff writer
Anna Gorman, Campus Carrier staff writer
In June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a decision that ended the 50-year protection of the federally guaranteed right to access abortion care.
Eric Sands, a political science professor, said the Dobbs v. Jackson case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, did not make abortion illegal, but rather allowed states to decide abortion policy. Sands said he was not surprised that Georgia passed what is known as the “Heartbeat Bill,” which bans abortions after six weeks.
On September 30, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney overturned the bill.
“The State’s interest in protecting ‘unborn’ life is compelling, until that life can be sustained by the State,” the order said. “The balance of rights favors the woman.”
Sophomore Damian Marko, the president of Berry’s Young Democrats club, was surprised at the Superior Court’s ruling.
“Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates of any state, just because our access to health care for women, especially women of color, is very, very low,” Marko said. “Just seeing [the ruling], I thought that it gave us a little bit of hope, but considering Georgia and how it functions and with voter suppression and everything else that’s going on, I’m not surprised if that doesn’t last.”
On Oct. 2, State Attorney General Christopher Carr appealed the Superior Court’s ruling that overturned the Heartbeat Bill. The Georgia Supreme Court reinstated the Heartbeat Bill on Oct. 7.
The topic of abortion has been prominent for 50 years, since the original ruling of Roe v. Wade, but has seemed to be a main topic of conversation this election period, according to Sands.
“You go all the way back to 1973 with Roe v. Wade, there’s been nothing settled about abortion,” Sands said. “You’ve had people at each other’s throats over the issue, so I would challenge that characterization that somehow it snuck up on us, as it’s never really gone away. It’s been there all along, but dealing with the ramifications of the Dobbs decision and then dealing with different states and acting different laws on abortion, it that tailor made for grassroots efforts.”
Marko believes that public opinion is moving in favor of less restrictions on abortion.
“Our culture is shifting toward more individualistic, and so the views that one person has about something like abortion is changing,” Marko said. “I think people are now recognizing that you can believe in your beliefs, but you don’t have to force other people to believe in those beliefs and follow your practices and how you would carry that out.”
Marko also believes that this issue will draw a multitude of individuals to vote.
“I think it’ll draw massive people out for elections because nobody wants to feel like they’re being controlled with their own body, unless you know that’s what you believe,” Marko said. “It should be your choice, and even Republicans feel that way as well, or at least some of them, because they don’t want to face the crisis of having a child that you know will grow up in a bad environment, who won’t make it due to the economy right now. It’s really hard for them.”
Marko said abortion will have a significant impact on the election.
“I think it’ll have a significant impact on the election because we are moving in a different direction with new generations pushing forward and having new tendencies in how we think about policy, but also just like our personal freedoms, and that’s just one of the biggest issues right now,” Marko said. “70% of the United States has no problem with abortion being whatever term that the mother decides, rather than what the government decides, or state level decides.”
The Office of Belonging and Community Engagement has worked closely with groups across campus, notably Berry Votes, to encourage students to vote through nonpartisan advocation, according to Director of Operations and Development Laurie Chandler.
To increase participation at the polls, Berry Votes is taking part in the All In challenge, which encourages students to register, research and vote in upcoming elections. According to Chandler, 151 students have taken the pledge to vote, making Berry second to Hendrix College in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) and 13th nationally for the number of people who have signed on.
On top of this, the Young Democrats focused on voter registration to encourage voter engagement.
“We did voter registration during the last half of September because early October was the cutoff for early registration or registration in general,” Marko said. “We were really trying to drum up people that are even from out of state to vote, just trying to get people to vote as much as possible, and just get the ball rolling that way.”
Sands sees voting as a duty that is asked of him as a citizen of the United States. He believes that although your vote might not extend very far, it is important that you vote.
“I would just say that your vote matters, not in the sense that it is likely to determine the outcome of a national election in the United States,” Sands said. “We have 150 million people that are voting. What I want to add on to that is [that] your vote should matter to you.”
Marko believes that it is not time to be apathetic, but rather to focus on what a political candidate can provide to the people. Most importantly, Marko highlights the importance of voting.
“My most important thing that I think people should know is vote,” Marko said. “Please vote, because it just has to happen. We have to move forward, we can’t let things continue the way they are, and everybody can agree there has to be a shift.”
In person voting has opened in Georgia and will continue until Nov. 5.