Georgia Right to Life was established by Jay[a] and Cheryl Bowman in 1970, under the name Georgia Right to Life Committee.[b] Its first major action was a letter-writing campaign in the same year, encouraging Georgians to vote for anti-abortion candidates. By 1971, the Georgia Right to Life Committee was incorporated and became a member of the National Right to Life Coalition. An office was set up in the garage of the Bowmans' home and volunteers helped mail packets of information and a newsletter to thousands of Georgians. Several months later, Georgia Right to Life began establishing local chapters in other parts of the state.
In 1973, Georgia Right to Life launched an anti-abortion campaign in reaction to the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade which was decided on January 22, 1973. The Bowmans appeared on television and radio programs as speakers on abortion and other related issues. Jay Bowman appeared in the "hot seat" on the WAGA show Confrontation and Cheryl Bowman appeared on WSB-TV's Today in Georgia. The group gained national recognition when an article about Georgia Right to Life was printed in a 1975 issue of Newsweek. The organization eventually relocated its office to Decatur, Georgia.
Mary Boyert
The Bowmans left Georgia Right to Life in the late 1970s. Mary Boyert joined GRTL's executive committee in 1978. She served as the Education Director from 1979–1980, when she was elected president of the organization. She served for three consecutive terms (1980–1986). After her third and final term, Boyert was appointed to the Executive Director position in late 1986. She held that post until being appointed the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Director in 2000.[3] Boyert established the Georgia Right to Life Executive Committee, the Georgia Right to Life Educational Trust Fund, and the Georgia Right to Life Political Action Committee. Under Ms. Boyert's presidency, local chapters were founded and the organization's bimonthly newsletter began publication.
In 2000, president-elect Caryl Swift disqualified candidates who held an abortion exception in favor of rape and incest victims from receiving an endorsement from GRTL. In the 2002 U.S. Senate election, GRTL initially endorsed Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Bob Irvin, who had claimed to only support abortions in cases where the mother's life is at risk. The organization later repealed its endorsement of Chambliss, when it was revealed that he also supported abortions for pregnancies from rape and incest.[8] In 2004, after Republican U.S. representative Johnny Isakson voted to allow overseas military hospitals to perform abortions, Georgia Right to Life jointly endorsed Republicans Herman Cain and Mac Collins to oppose his run for U.S. Senate.[9][10] For the 2006 Georgia state elections, GRTL endorsed several Republicans, including Casey Cagle, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Gary Black, Brian Kemp and Sonny Perdue, as well as Democrat Walter Ray.[11]
During Swift's presidency, GRTL also began lobbying for Georgia state representatives and proposed legislation. GRTL successfully lobbied the Georgia General Assembly on HB 197[12] in 2006, which created a 24-hour waiting period for all women seeking an abortion, tightened parental notification regulations, mandated that all women seeking abortion be offered the chance to view an ultrasound, and mandated all women seeking abortion be informed about fetal pain.
Swift was succeeded as president by Daniel Becker in 2007.[c] Under Becker's leadership, the organization lobbied for restrictions on abortion, including the Human Life Amendment which would have defined personhood as beginning at fertilization, to be added to the Georgia Constitution.[14][15] The organization lobbied Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson for a speedy vote on the amendment. To date,[when?] the Human Life Amendment has not come to a vote in the Georgia General Assembly.[14][15] Other GRTL-sponsored legislation which has not received a hearing in the Georgia House include SB 223 "The Woman's Reproductive Health Oversight Committee,"[16] HR 1 "Ban on Abortion,"[17] and HR 5 "Paramount Right to Life Amendment."[18]
In 2009, Georgia Right to Life released its Candidate Affirmation statement. Any political candidate who seeks an endorsement from the organization must sign the statement. The document reads:[d]
IN ADDITION, we believe, in the face of compelling biological evidence that a continuum of human life and personhood begins at the moment of fertilization and ends at natural death, the ethical treatment of human embryos must include their "best interests,"
THEREFORE, as a candidate for public office, I affirm my support for a Human Life Amendment to the Georgia Constitution and other actions that would support these principals [sic]. This would assure that regardless of race, age, degree of disability, manner of conception or circumstances surrounding a terminal illness, that the civil rights of the pre-born at an embryonic or fetal level, the elderly and those with mental or physical infirmities are protected by law and are violated when we allow destructive embryonic stem cell research, therapeutic or reproductive cloning, animal-human hybrids, abortion (except to save the life of the mother), infanticide, euthanasia or assisted suicide.
The organization hosts the annual Georgia March For Life Memorial Service and the Silent March. The Georgia March For Life commemorates the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and takes place at Liberty Plaza, across from the Georgia State Capitol. State representative Martin Scott (R-District 2) and Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoke at the Silent March in 2009.[46] In 2001, GRTL established the REACH Benefit Dinner. REACH, which is an acronym for Reaching Hearts, Changing Minds, is an annual fundraiser for GRTL's Educational Trust Fund.
Georgia Right to Life publishes a bi-monthly newsletter with a stated circulation of around 60,000.
Campaigns
Georgia Right to Life established the "Abortion Holocaust Memorial Wall", a virtual wall modeled after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, intended to recognize every abortion performed in the United States since 1973. In 2009, GRTL joined the non-profit organization Choose Life of Georgia in its "Choose Life" license plates campaign.
There are currently[when?] 30 adult-organized, grass roots chapters and one youth-focused and youth-organized chapter under the Georgia Right to Life banner. By unanimous vote by the state board, GRTL became a faith-based organization in 2007. Georgia Right to Life is a philanthropic Judeo-Christian organization which is legally recognized as a not-for-profit.
The organization has had a democratically elected president since its creation in 1970. All presidents are limited to three consecutive two-year terms. Any president may serve in any position within the organization after their presidency for as long as the current president sees fit.