The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a fantastic op-ed by Dr. Robert Hatcher today. Dr. Hatcher draws attention to presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's planned visit to the Georgia on January 22, the anniversary of Roe. Huckabee chose to visit Georgia on the symbolic day with the goal of drawing public to HR 536, a bill that would define personhood at the moment of fertilization. What Dr. Hatcher reveals is what most Georgians, and Americans, don't know: Mike Huckabee is in lock-step with the right to life establishment and its war on contracpetion. HR 536, if passed, will redefine the most commonly used forms of birth control, (like the pill, the patch, the depo-shot, the ring, the IUD) as abortion. HR536 lays the groundwork for banning the most effective forms of birth control in Georgia.

Below is Dr. Hatcher's op-ed:

Huckstering points up bill's dangers
by Robert Hatcher, for the Journal-Constitution

I have been a physician at Grady Memorial Hospital for 44 years, in family planning for 41 years and a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory for 39 years. I have seen the importance of family planning, including birth control, for the women of Georgia. I am concerned about the impending visit of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on Jan. 22, the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion.

He is here to encourage the passage of House Resolution 536, supported by Georgia Right to Life. Most Georgians are unaware of the full implications of HR 536, which designates personhood in the state of Georgia beginning at fertilization and continuing to natural death. The intention is to ban legal abortion in Georgia. Additionally, defining personhood as starting at fertilization is contrary to the medical definition of pregnancy by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which is at implantation --- when the embryo adheres to the wall of the uterus.HR 536 would impact all hormonal methods of birth control, including birth control pills, the patch, the Nuva-Ring, injections like Depo-Provera and both currently available IUDs. It could even prevent the use of some forms of assisted reproductive technology and cast a shadow on the reporting of miscarriages.

Huckabee is coming to Georgia to highlight his support of legislation that could prevent public health facilities in Georgia from providing the contraceptives that 95 percent of women use at some time in their lives. Is this what anyone in the United States would want to see happen?Family planning was designated one of the top 100 health breakthroughs of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We know, scientifically, that family planning, spacing the amount of time between the birth of children, access to prenatal care and safe, legal abortion contribute to the health of women and families. I have never understood the lack of support and in some cases overt opposition to funding for family planning by those who oppose abortion. Currently fewer than 50 percent of Georgia's poorest women have access to subsidized family planning services. Many health departments run out of birth control supplies and have to write prescriptions for clients. There are only eight states with higher teen birth rates and seven states with higher infant mortality rates than Georgia. How sad. I have loved my years of providing individual women with completely voluntary contraceptives, in large part because I have seen the benefits family planning has brought to women and families. If people of conscience on the other side of this issue would join forces with those of us who want to see less teen and unintended pregnancy and reduce the number of abortions, we could make it happen.

There are many countries that are far more successful than we are on these issues. Canada has half as many teen pregnancies and Western Europe one fourth as many, largely because of access to sexual health information and contraceptive services. I do not believe that private and personal issues should be decided by legislators, the state or the federal government, or frankly, by the president. We do not need a Huckabee, on his whistlestop trip through Georgia, to come and make recommendations about changing our state's constitution. We need practical and realistic policies and practices that will help our state climb out of the cellar in health status for women and children. Programs that promote prevention and wellness should be at the top of the list. An ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure.

Robert Hatcher, M.D., is a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine.