Atlanta, GA–Oct 8, 2024-Six-week abortion restriction voted by Georgia lawmakers; nicknamed “heartbeat law,” has been reinstated by the Georgia Supreme Court although dangling from tenuous legal challenges pending against the legislation.
The law, which bars most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, had been blocked by lower courts following lawsuits from reproductive rights groups. On Monday, the state’s highest court ruled 5-2 to temporarily reinstate the restriction, letting it go into effect while an appeal is reviewed.
The ruling is a boost to pro-life activists and Republican legislators who put this law on the books in 2019. Governor Brian Kemp expressed pleasure with the ruling and stated, “This is a significant step for the unborn here in Georgia. We will defend the legislation in court as we continue to toil for the sanctity of life.
Under the six-week restriction, abortions would be banned once cardiac activity can be proved to exist within an embryo, a point at which it is typically before most women realize they are even pregnant. While provisions allow for exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or where the health of the mother could be harmed, critics state they are defined too narrowly.
Abortion rights advocates were quick to respond with outrage to the ruling: “This decision forces women to make decisions about their health care under impossible timelines,” said Emily Martin, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Southeast. “We will continue to fight in court to block this cruel and unconstitutional law.”
This ruling is at a time when access to abortion in all of the U.S. remains a contentious issue months after the Supreme Court’s September 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had provided federal protections for abortion. Since then, quite many states such as Georgia passed or attempted to pass more stringent abortion laws.
The legal battle is hardly done in Georgia, as the state’s Supreme Court will soon have an opportunity to review the full appeal of the case and until such a final judgment is passed, the six-week ban shall remain.
As it waits for such a final judgment, clinics throughout the state must abide by the law that has been reinstated, which leaves many women with limited options for abortion care.
