ATLANTA – An Atlanta City Council member wants city employees to be able to take paid sick leave to access reproductive care, including abortions.

Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari introduced legislation Monday that would allow city employees to take paid leave for pregnancy and childbirth including “the loss or termination of a pregnancy including via miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.”

The proposal cites Georgia’s near-total ban on abortions passed by state lawmakers in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The historic ruling dissolved the national right to an abortion that had been upheld for nearly 50 years.

Georgia’s law prohibits abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is typically around six weeks into pregnancy and often before a woman even knows she’s pregnant. The Georgia Supreme Court recently reinstated the ban after a Fulton county judge ruled against it.

“The frequent changing of abortion laws through legal challenges in the State of Georgia places pregnant persons or people who may become pregnant in difficult and even life-threatening situations,” Bakhtiari’s legislation says.

In anticipation of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Atlanta City Council passed a resolution decriminalizing abortion in Atlanta by urging the police department to make investigations into abortions their “lowest possible priority.”

In a statement, Bakhtiari said that access to reproductive care like abortions is a “fundamental human right” and that employees should be able to take enough leave to travel to states that offer abortion-related services.

“With this Ordinance, the City of Atlanta is making a decisive statement: Every city employee deserves the freedom to make personal health decisions without fear of unnecessary barriers or judgment,” she said.

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