Rick Jackson, the Republican billionaire running for Georgia governor, said he’ll uphold and defend the state’s LIFE Act, which gives access to an abortion up to 20 weeks under the rape and incest exception.
But in leaked audio, Jackson can be heard agreeing that rape survivors should have to prove they were assaulted to access an abortion under that same law.
Back in April, before Jackson had even locked up his primary, he was at a community barbecue when a voter told him abortion exceptions for rape amount to “two wrongs.”
Leaked audio later obtained by HuffPost caught Jackson agreeing that women should have to prove they were raped to qualify for an exception under the state’s six-week ban.
‘Proving’ rape often proves impossible
Most survivors never get past the first step.
Roughly 65% of rapes are never even reported to the police, and much of that comes down to survivors correctly guessing that a report won’t lead anywhere.
Out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, an estimated 50 lead to an arrest, according to RAINN. Twenty-eight of those 50 result in a felony conviction, and 25 perpetrators are incarcerated.
Rape cases can also take months or years to move through the courts, which means those timelines don’t align with abortion deadlines under laws like Georgia’s.
Under a “prove it” standard, a survivor seeking an abortion would need to substantiate a rape allegation within that window—the same kind of case the criminal justice system convicts in roughly 2% of instances, RAINN’s data shows.
According to HuffPost’s report on the leaked audio, a woman told Jackson that babies deserve to be born regardless of how they were conceived, and Jackson responded by affirming that it’s “still a life.” HuffPost also reported that Jackson went along with the woman’s suggestion that a rape survivor should have to provide proof of the assault before qualifying for the state’s abortion law exception.
Opponents of abortion rights have long argued that rape exceptions function as a loophole to obtain abortion care—but data undercuts that claim: Rape and incest account for roughly 1.5% of abortions combined, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Jackson’s record on reproductive rights
Jackson’s campaign says the coverage is inaccurate. A spokesperson called it “an incorrect framing based on ‘Democratic spin,’” and said Jackson supports the current law and will defend it as governor.
But in the same recording, Jackson talked about wanting to “tighten up” access to abortion pills, which account for over 80% of abortions in Georgia.
He also suggested pursuing criminal charges against doctors who perform abortions after six weeks, telling the voter that physicians should have to prove the exact gestational age because “doctors are not going to risk their licenses.” In March, he also said he would sign a total abortion ban with no exceptions if it reached his desk.
CBS News Atlanta pointed out the timing: The recordings surfaced as Georgia’s abortion law is getting fresh scrutiny over the death of Amber Thurman, whose delayed care made national headlines.
The governor’s race
Jackson is a healthcare executive and one of the richest people in Georgia. He won the Republican nomination in a June runoff, spending more than $100 million of his own money against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
His opponent is former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who won the Democratic primary in May. If she wins, she will be the first Black woman elected governor in US history. Her platform includes expanding Medicaid, lowering the cost of living, repealing Georgia’s abortion restrictions, and guaranteeing access to pre-K education.
Bottoms has campaigned against Georgia’s six-week abortion ban and advocated for restoring reproductive freedom, according to 41NBC. She has tied the ban directly to maternal health outcomes, particularly for Black women.
During a campaign stop, Bottoms said that Black women are dying and suffering complications during childbirth at alarming rates.
“Meanwhile, we’ve got a six-week abortion ban in the state,” she said.
