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Stacey Abrams slammed for claiming 6-week fetal heartbeat is ‘a manufactured sound’ to help men control women

'Life begins at conception so this arbitrary argument is irrelevant to me,' said a user slamming the Georgina Democrat

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Progressive Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams faced backlash after she claimed that there is “no such thing” as a fetal heartbeat at six weeks and insisted that is just “manufactured sound” designed so that men have control over women’s bodies. 

The Peach State gubernatorial candidate made the jaw-dropping comment at an event in Atlanta on Tuesday, September 20, saying, “There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks. It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body.” Democrat Stacey is a supporter of abortion rights but many internet users said her statement is contradicting saying, the fetal heart isn't fully developed but is in the process of its development. "Hearing my babies heartbeats at 6 weeks is hands down one of the most exciting," late Sen. John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain tweeted. "Stacey Abrams is a very sick person to say this and somehow accuse doctors of faking fetal heartbeats. Full stop,”

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According to the American Pregnancy Association, "a fetal heartbeat can be detected by a vaginal ultrasound at between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 weeks, when the fetal pole can be seen." “The fetal pole may be seen at a crown-rump length (CRL) of 2-4mm, and the heartbeat may be seen as a regular flutter when the CRL has reached 5mm,” the organization explains. Sports commentator Michele Tafoya tweeted, “So, @staceyabrams … When my (male) doctors told me they could no longer hear my baby’s heartbeat… as I lost pregnancy after pregnancy… Was that fake, too? Did they manufacture the absence of my baby’s heartbeat in order to force me to terminate the pregnancy?” A spokesman Alex Floyd for Abrams’ campaign told 'the New York Post that she supports the guidelines established in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, in which justices found a fetus was viable at about 23 weeks. "Doctors have been clear that the so-called ‘heartbeat law’ is not medically accurate,” Alex Floyd said.

Stacey responded to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s proposal to create a national standard outlawing abortion after 15 weeks, saying she supports the decision until “the time of birth.” “I believe that abortion is a medical decision, not a political decision,” she said. “And arbitrary, politically defined timelines are deeply problematic because they ignore the reality of medical and physiological issues. For example, a six-week ban tells women they have to make reproductive choices before they know they’re pregnant. And that arbitrariness extends into these artificial timelines,” Stacey explained.

Social media users had mixed reactions to Stacey's comment and many had their own theories. One said, "She is correct. At 6 wks, there’s NO fetus, it’s an embryo & the flickering seen on US is electrical activity. No heart has formed, therefore it’s impossible to have a detectable heartbeat. The sound heard IS manufactured by the machine. A heartbeat can’t be heard until 10-12 wks". Another user wrote, "Is the fetal heart fully developed? OF COURSE NOT. But it is still contracting, in the process of its development." The user then further explains embryology with a pic of the chart to other Internet users, saying, "Note that by five weeks, the detail heart has four chambers."

One user who has suffered multiple miscarriages both before and after a heartbeat said this is just insulting, "What in the h$ll is she talking about!! I could not be more insulted by this statement! Strength of heartbeat at 6 weeks was a key factor confirmed by all of my docs!" Another remarked, "Look at how they are willingly eating up the BS. Blind loyalties to skin color and ideologies based on identity is killing this country. It’s a slow death." One user simply tweeted, "Life begins at conception so this arbitrary argument is irrelevant to me." "Heartbeats can be detected at 5 weeks. We even know that it speeds up until the 9th week before slowing down as birth approaches," read another tweet. "You know what would really help? Easy and cheap access to birth control and adequate healthcare," added another.