The Supreme Court of Georgia has reinstated a six-week abortion ban, a week after it wasby one of the U.S. state’s lower courts.
Earlier this month, a Georgia judge ruled the ban breached Americans’ constitutional freedom and privacy rights.
The Supreme Court – the highest court in Georgia – is considering an appeal to overrule the lower court. In the meantime, it’s ordered the six-week ban be upheld.
Abortion is a key campaign issue ahead of next month’s Presidential election. Georgia is one of a few crucial swing states.
Background
Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed the “Living Infants Fairness and Equality” (LIFE) Act into law in 2019.
Also known as the “heartbeat law,” the legislation bans abortions from the point at which a foetal heartbeat is first detected, typically around six weeks.
It was initially blocked by a state court but came into effect in 2022 — after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The ruling gave individual states the power to enforce their own abortion regulations.
Reversal
A women’s rights group called ‘Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective’ launched legal action against the six-week abortion ban.
They argued it violated a provision of the U.S. Constitution that states: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.”
SisterSong Women’s action was initially overturned. However, it was revisited by a lower court last week, when Georgia district court Judge Robert McBurney declared the LIFE Act was unconstitutional.
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In his ruling, McBurney said: “This dispute is fundamentally about the extent of a woman’s right to control what happens to and within her body.”
The ruling allowed abortions in Georgia up to 22 weeks of pregnancy — “when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then and only then may society intervene,” McBurney argued.
In response, abortion clinic officials in Georgia told The Associated Press that they would offer procedures past six weeks immediately, but anticipated the ruling would be struck down.
Appeal
Following McBurney’s decision, State legislators announced they would appeal the ruling in Georgia’s Supreme Court.
A spokesperson from the state’s Attorney General’s office said: “We believe Georgia’s LIFE Act is fully constitutional, and we will immediately appeal the lower court’s decision.”
This week, the Supreme Court agreed in a majority ruling to uphold the LIFE Act while it reviews the appeal.
It means that most abortions past six weeks pregnancy are now outlawed in Georgia.
Response
Georgia’s Republican Attorney General Chris Carr welcomed the court’s decision “to allow the LIFE Act to once again take effect”. He said: “We will continue to defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Georgia.”
Monica Simpson from SisterSong Women called the decision “disappointing but not surprising.”
Simpson said she still believes “in a Georgia where we all have the right to decide whether or not to have children and raise [them] in safe, sustainable communities.”
