Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates 6-Week Abortion Ban

Topline

Abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will be illegal in Georgia as of Monday evening, as the Georgia Supreme Court halted a ruling that struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban, once again putting the Southern state among more than a dozen states that now restrict abortion.

Key Facts

The Georgia Supreme Court paused the ruling that struck down the abortion ban, meaning the law will take effect again while the appeals process plays out until the state Supreme Court can issue a more lasting ruling—other than one part of the law that allows health records to be turned over to district attorneys, which will not be reinstated.

Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney overturned the law in a ruling on Sept. 30, finding the ban unconstitutional under state law, because Georgia’s right to “liberty” includes “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 health care choices.”

The state Supreme Court did not explain its decision to reinstate the law, only saying that it would take effect again at 5 p.m. Monday.

All the justices agreed with the ruling to reinstate the law—other than two who didn’t participate or were disqualified—except for Justice John J. Ellington, who concurred with the decision not to reinstate the provision on health records, but disagreed with allowing the rest of the law to take effect.

Georgia “should not be in the business of enforcing laws that have been determined to violate fundamental rights guaranteed to millions of individuals under the Georgia Constitution” while the appeals process plays out, Ellington wrote, arguing the state didn’t prove why it’s “urgent” that the law be reinstated.

“This decision is unconscionable,” Monica Simpson, who leads the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective that brought the case, said in a statement Monday, adding the court “sided with anti-abortion extremists.”

What To Watch For

It’s unclear how long it will take for the case to play out at the Georgia Supreme Court, but the ruling Monday means the ban will stay in effect until the legal process is complete and the state’s high court issues a final ruling.

Big Number

2,502. That’s the estimated average number of abortions that took place in Georgia each month between July 2022, right after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and Dec. 2023, according to data compiled by the Society of Family Planning. That marks a steep decline from the 4,300 that took place on average in April and May 2022, before restrictions were enacted, with the organization noting Georgia is one of the states that saw the biggest decrease in its abortion rate as a result of bans.

Chief Critic

“Every minute this harmful six-week abortion ban is in place, Georgians suffer,” Simpson said Monday about the court’s ruling. “Denying our community members the lifesaving care they deserve jeopardizes their lives, safety, and health—all for the sake of power and control over our bodies.”

News Peg

The legal fight over Georgia’s ban comes soon after ProPublica reported in mid-September that at least two women are known to have died after being unable to access abortion in Georgia, the first known casualties in the wake of statewide abortion bans. Amber Thurman was hospitalized following a rare complication from using abortion pills, and died after physicians were unable to perform the procedure that would have removed the fetus, ProPublica reports. Candi Miller ordered abortion pills online because of Georgia’s abortion ban, ProPublica reported, and died at home following rare complications, with her family telling the coroner she declined to seek treatment “due to the current legislation on pregnancies and abortions.” The womens’ deaths have become a rallying cry on the left as they fight against abortion bans and urge voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris, and Simpson pointed to their deaths in her statement Monday, arguing the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision was particularly “unconscionable” after their loss.

Key Background

Georgia is one of more than a dozen states that have enacted abortion bans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, and one of four in which six-week bans are in effect, along with Florida, Iowa and South Carolina. Six-week abortion bans—referred to on the right as “heartbeat” laws—allow abortions until six weeks into a pregnancy, but have been heavily criticized by abortion rights supporters, as that is still before many people know they’re pregnant. Georgia passed its six-week ban in 2019, even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, but the law only took effect following the high court’s ruling. The lawsuit against Georgia’s abortion law is part of a broader strategy by abortion rights supporters challenging abortion bans under state laws, now that the Supreme Court has declared them legal under federal law, which have resulted in abortion bans being at least temporarily halted in a number of states.

Further Reading