A judge in Georgia has overturned the state’s six-week abortion ban, ruling it violates the U.S. Constitution.
Critics of the act noted many people don’t know they are pregnant before the six-week mark.
Advocacy groups have now successfully argued against it, claiming the ban infringes on American’s freedom and privacy rights.
Abortion is a key campaign issue ahead of next month’s Presidential election. Georgia is one of a few crucial swing states.
Georgia’s LIFE Act
Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed the abortion ban, “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 fetal 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.
Law reversal
A women’s rights group in Georgia called ‘SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective’ launched legal action to overturn the six-week abortion ban.
The group argued the ban violates 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 by the Georgia Supreme Court. However, it was revisited by a lower court this year.
This week, Georgia district court Judge Robert McBurney declared the LIFE Act was unconstitutional.
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 means abortions would be allowed in Georgia up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. This is “when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then and only then may society intervene,” McBurney argued.
Response
State legislators have announced they will appeal the ruling in Georgia’s Supreme Court — the state’s top 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.”
If McBurney’s decision is overturned, the six-week ban could be upheld.
SisterSong Women’s Executive Director Monica Simpson welcomed McBurney’s decision. Simpson said she was ”encouraged” that a Georgia court had “ruled for bodily autonomy.”
Simpson added: “At the same time, we can’t forget that every day the ban has been in place has been a day too long”.
Advocates said they hope the Georgia ruling would improve abortion access for women in neighbouring Southern states, who have to travel interstate to have a termination.
What’s next for Georgia?
While the appeal is pending, abortion clinic officials in Georgia told The Associated Press that they will offer procedures past six weeks gestation.
However, the ban could be reimposed within a matter of days.
Justice McBurney also ruled to strike down the abortion ban in 2022.
However, the ban was upheld by the Supreme Court, which took seven days to overturn McBurney’s first ruling within seven days.