Demonstrators Protest Against Anti-Women Bills That State Legislatures Are Considering

State legislatures are busy debating another round of anti-choice legislation (after passing a record number of anti-abortion measures in 2011). But this year, women are speaking up more loudly.

To push back against the Republican-backed proposals, Democrats have proposed satirical bills mocking extreme measures bestowing personhood on a zygote and requiring women to have ultrasounds before abortion procedures.

And constituents have voiced their opposition, rallying against cuts to funding for women’s health care, ultrasound bills, and personhood measures. And the protests are spreading.

In Georgia, hundreds protested on Monday against two anti-abortion bills approved by the state Senate. One would prevent state employees’ health care plans from covering abortion, and the other exempts religious health care providers from having to cover birth control:

Demonstrators held signs saying “Trust Georgia women” and “My body is not a political playground” as they walked around the Gold Dome. They chanted “Not the church, not the state, women must decide their fate.”

“I don’t think that a few men in this state have the right to take away the rights of women,” said Suzanne Ault, 48, of Atlanta. “It’s not their call to make, the health and life of a woman.”

The Georgia House is now considering both bills.

And in Wisconsin, demonstrators rallied today against a push on the last day of the state’s legislative session to pass several anti-woman bills. The measures would prevent private insurance plans from covering abortion, add barriers for women seeking abortions, and end a program to provide information to teenagers about avoiding unintended pregnancies.