The Georgia Supreme Court reinstated the state’s six-week abortion ban Monday after a lower court deemed the law unconstitutional.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled in a Sept. 30 ruling that the six-week ban violated the state Constitution, arguing its protection of liberty allows women to obtain an abortion up to the point of viability. The state Supreme Court’s new ruling, which will take place at 5:00 p.m. EDT Monday, implemented an indefinite stay while the state reviews an appeal of the lower court’s ruling, according to the ruling.
“The State of Georgia’s Emergency Petition for Supersedeas seeking a stay of the order of the Superior Court of Fulton County in the above-styled action is hereby GRANTED with respect to OCGA § 16-12-141, except as to OCGA § 16-12-141 (f),” the ruling reads. “The State of Georgia’s Emergency Petition for Supersedeas seeking a stay of the order of the Superior Court of Fulton County in the above-styled action is hereby GRANTED with respect to OCGA § 31-9B-3 (a). To the extent the State also seeks an ‘administrative stay,’ that motion is dismissed as moot.”
BREAKING: The Georgia Supreme Court just issued an order reinstating the heartbeat bill.
Life is now protected in Georgia starting at 6 weeks.
This reverses an earlier order from a Fulton Co Judge that allowed children in the womb to be killed until 22 weeks. pic.twitter.com/6svYSeWNio
— Clare Anne Ath (@clareanneath) October 7, 2024
Justice John J. Ellington wrote in his dissenting opinion that the state failed to provide a reason for issuing an immediate stay on the lower court’s decision, according to the ruling.
The previous reversal of the six-week ban allowed abortion up to about 20 weeks of pregnancy, NBC News reported. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced an immediate appeal of the lower court’s ruling to the state Supreme Court in an attempt to place a stay on the matter.
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the six-week restriction into law in May 2019, which officially went into effect in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The law outlaws abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which occurs around six weeks of gestation, and allows exceptions to protect the mother’s life.
The state Supreme Court upheld the law once before in October 2023 after a lower court deemed it unconstitutional.
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