Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates Six-Week Abortion Ban Amid Ongoing Legal Battle

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The Georgia Supreme Court has reinstated the state’s six-week abortion ban, reversing a recent lower court decision that had temporarily allowed wider access to the procedure. This ruling, which went into effect at 5 p.m. on Monday, once again makes most abortions in Georgia illegal after six weeks of pregnancy. 

 

The state’s abortion law, known as the LIFE Act, was signed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2019 but only took effect in July 2022 after facing legal challenges. The law bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy, a time before many women are even aware they are pregnant. Exceptions to the ban exist, allowing for abortion in cases that protect the woman’s life and health or when fetal anomalies are detected.

 

The Georgia Supreme Court’s decision came as it reviews the state’s appeal of a lower court ruling that had struck down the six-week ban. Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had ruled against the ban, effectively legalizing abortion in Georgia up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.

 

In his ruling, McBurney emphasized the importance of a woman’s right to control her own body. “Liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices,” he wrote. He added, however, that the right to abortion is not unlimited and can be restricted when a fetus reaches viability.

 

While reinstating the six-week ban, the Georgia Supreme Court left in place a separate part of the lower court’s ruling, which had blocked a provision giving state prosecutors broad access to the medical records of abortion patients without due process protections.

 

The court’s decision has heightened uncertainty over abortion access in Georgia, a key battleground state where the issue remains at the forefront of political discourse. Vice President Kamala Harris has drawn attention to the devastating consequences of the state’s abortion restrictions, highlighting the cases of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, two Black women who died in 2022 after complications from taking abortion pills. ProPublica reported that both women’s deaths were preventable. Miller, who had multiple health issues, was reportedly too afraid to seek medical care due to the abortion law, while Thurman remained in the hospital for 20 hours before doctors decided they could legally operate on her.

 

Reproductive rights advocates have criticized the reinstatement of the ban, calling it a dangerous setback for women’s healthcare in Georgia. “It is cruel that our patients’ ability to access the reproductive health care they need has been taken away yet again," said Kwajelyn Jackson, Executive Director of the Feminist Women’s Health Center. She added, "This ban has wreaked havoc on Georgians’ lives, and our patients deserve better." Jaylen Black, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Southeast, described the ruling as "an egregious example of how far anti-abortion lawmakers and judges will go to strip Georgians of their fundamental rights," pointing to the tragic, preventable deaths of Thurman and Miller.

 

As the legal battle over abortion continues in Georgia, the court's ruling raises serious questions about the future of reproductive rights in the state, leaving many women and healthcare providers in a state of uncertainty.

 

Based on a report from NBC News 2024-10-09

 

 

 

[Tug]

Oh thats gonna help the republicans win elections NOT!!!lol the republicans are so done…..the women vote and here’s a clue us guys vote as well lots and lots of us don’t like what theses republicans are doing to our woman folk!