Georgia on my mind

Richard A. Sokerka

Here in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy continues to support a culture of death, which St. Pope John Paul II condemned in his encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae,” (“The Gospel of Life”). The governor’s recent signing into law legislation that legalized assisted suicide in the state and his first act as governor to fully restore taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of abortions, attest to that.

But our governor’s direct slap in the face to the right to life is the polar opposite of another governor who is standing up for life.

That’s why I have Georgia on my mind this week.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed into law legislation that bans abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. The law will take effect Jan. 1.

The Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act will limit abortion in the state of Georgia to about the first six weeks of gestation. Presently, abortion is legal in the state until the 20th week of a pregnancy.

“We stand up and speak for those unable to speak for themselves,” Gov. Kemp said. “The LIFE Act is very simple, but also very powerful.”

The Catholic Bishops of Georgia commended Gov. Kemp for signing the bill, saying this law is a step forward compared to the present situation in the state, and “will bring protection of unborn human life to a point closer to conception than current law.”

Gov. Kemp knows that now that he signed the bill, a legal battle will ensue. The American Civil Liberties Union, for one, has vowed to fight the LIFE Act in court. But Gov. Kemp is undaunted by the legal threats. “I realize that some may challenge it in the court of law. But our job is to do what is right, not what is easy,” he said.

The LIFE Act is “a declaration that all life has value, that all life matters, that all life is worthy of protection,” Gov. Kemp said.

If only New Jersey’s governor believed as Gov. Kemp does that “all life is worthy of protection.”