The Supreme Court of Georgia has reinstated a ban on nearly all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy as it reviews the state’s appeal of a lower court ruling that had blocked the law. The order went into effect at 5 p.m. on Monday.
The lawsuit challenging the abortion ban was filed by the Atlanta-based SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, SisterSong’s executive director, Monica Simpson, expressed her dismay, stating, “Today, the Georgia Supreme Court sided with anti-abortion extremists. Every minute this harmful six-week abortion ban is in place, Georgians suffer.”
This decision comes after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had previously blocked the law on September 30, citing violations of women’s rights to privacy and liberty under the state constitution. The law, passed in 2019, prohibits nearly all abortions once a “human heartbeat” is detected, typically around six weeks, which often occurs before many women are aware of their pregnancies.
The law’s implementation was delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, which had protected abortion rights at the federal level. In a previous ruling, McBurney had temporarily blocked the ban in November 2022, but the Georgia Supreme Court quickly overturned that decision and directed McBurney to proceed with the trial.
In his recent ruling, McBurney emphasized that women “are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote,” stating that the state could only impose restrictions on abortion after fetal viability. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday is a temporary measure that will remain in effect until both sides present their arguments and a final decision is made.
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